Making homemade pizza has a very special place in my heart. Ever since I was a toddler, Sundays consisted of getting covered in flour and tomato sauce. My grandma would come over our house early in the morning and spend the Sunday with us. She and I used to make pizza dough from scratch and have the best time laughing, talking, and bonding while creating these delicious pizza pies. It was one of our "things" we loved to do together. My grandma passed away a few years ago and, to be honest, we started buying the pizza dough pre-made from the store or ordering a pie from the local pizzeria. Something clicked for me a little while ago and I wanted to go back to homemade pizza making. I still get a thrill of kneading the dough, watching it come to life as it rises, and smelling the enticing aroma of an Italian household while the pie bakes in the oven. I feel such pride when pulling my pizzas out of the oven believing that my grandma has been with me through the entire process of making the pizzas. I always look over my creation with admiration knowing that she would be so happy to see I am continuing one of favorite things. I can truly say that I put love into my cooking and baking I can totally taste the difference.
Serves: One 16 inch pizza pie.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 package of active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
Directions:
In a large bowl, add in the warm water, yeast, sugar, and 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Allow this to sit until the yeast looks foamy.
Add the flour and salt. Mix -you may have to use your hands- until a smooth dough forms (It should pull away from the sides of the bowl at this point). Knead the dough until elastic.
Drizzle half of the remaining olive oil on top of the dough and turn the dough over in the bowl. Cover the dough with either plastic wrap of a warm/damp towel and allow it to rise for about 1 hour or until double in size.
Lightly punch down the dough and place onto a lightly floured surface. Knead again. Place the dough back into the bowl and pour the remaining olive oil on top of it. Turn the dough over and cover again. Let the dough rise a second time.
After risen, lightly punch it down and roll the dough out to make your pizza!
Bake in the oven at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes.