I happened upon this recipe from Lauren's Latest (love her recipes so much!!!) and figured I should give it a try. The first night I made it, Jelly was here and when her parents picked her up, we sent a couple of slices of pizza home with them. They loved it like we did! They call it "the good pizza crust!" Ha!!!
The next time I made it, I still really liked it, but something just was off for me. My family certainly didn't complain, but I was bugged. Shocker. I know.
So...over the next couple of months, I adapted, tested, changed the original recipe until it's now our go-to every.Friday.night dinner. Holy Yum. And definitely Instagram worthy!!!
And just because they're super cute, here you get a picture of Grammy and Goosey when I made them make their own pizzas. Really then only had to put the toppings on...they're so picked on.
The changes aren't huge, but here is my version of the Instagram worthy pizza dough...
*If you have a kitchenaide, no adjustments will be required. If you only have a full size Bosch - double the recipe and freeze half in two equal portions - there is not enough dough to use the full size Bosch and have it mix well. I use my Bosch Compact for this and it's absolutely perfect! I actually use my "baby Bosch" for everything except homemade bread or the one recipe of cookies that makes like 6 dozen.*
Best.Pizza.Ever
Adapted from Lauren's Latest by MamaGooseBakery
In the stand of your mixer, put 1 cup warm water, 1 TBSP SAF instant yeast (seriously, just buy the SAF!!), and 1 TBSP white sugar. Mix to combine and let proof until bubbly, foamy, and creamy - about 5 minutes.
Add 1 heaping tsp garlic salt, 2 TBSP olive oil, and 3 cups flour.
Mix until well blended. Set the timer for 6 minutes and let the dough just knead away in your mixer for 6 minutes. I usually set it on speed 2 and kind of just hang out by my baby Bosch so he doesn't jump off the counter (don't ask how I know this is what will happen... :( ).
At the very end of the kneading time, with the mixer still going, drizzle in some olive oil. Not much, just enough to get that glorious little ball of dough and the mixing bowl oiled up so the dough doesn't dry out and stick to the bowl while rising. When the time's up, turn off the mixer, take out the dough hook, and throw a towel over the bowl. Let rise till double. And hour is about good, but sometimes it only takes like 30 minutes (probably the days that I am a less than perfect measurer of yeast...)
When the dough is doubled, dump it out onto a Silpat liner. Don't have a Silpat liner? Well, then, I'm afraid we can't be friends...get one. The off brand works well also. And I once ordered the most adorable turquoise and red Kudos brand ones that I love. Because they're cute. And of course because they're awesome!!!
Divide that now less than pretty dough into 2 equal sections. You can freeze one (I guess - Lauren said you could - I have a couple in the freezer, but I have this weird aversion to frozen dough and bread items...other than biscuits, wow, but that's a whole other post!). So maybe check out the original post to see her instructions on that part.
Anyway....(not enough grown-up conversation time today I'm afraid, sorry to ramble so)...
Smoosh (technical term right there) one portion of dough out onto whatever it is you want to bake the pizza on. If you're using a pizza stone, just smoosh it on there. If you're using a cast iron pizza skillet (my absolute fave!!!), lightly - VERY VERY LIGHTLY grease with olive oil or butter (don't use margarine. ever. seriously), then smoosh the dough in. The texture is going to feel weird to you if you're used to fluffy bread and roll dough. Trust me, it's fine. Smoosh and stretch and tug and nudge that dough until it fits your pan (we prefer ours pretty thin). Now do the same thing with the other one. I do one on the pizza stone (for breadsticks), and one in the pizza skillet.
And here's where I have to admit that sometimes we make 4 individual size pizzas instead of one big one. Because Luke and I love this deliciousness that is BBQ Chicken pizza with purple onions and fresh cilantro. And Goosey would rather stab herself in the foot than eat this...
Pizza - smooth on some pizza sauce (the only kind we like is Contadina Pizza Squeeze - I've yet to find a homemade sauce that we love. Then sprinkle on a good portion of shredded mozzarella. Do yourself a favor - buy the real stuff, and shred it yourself. Seriously. Add whatever toppings you want, and sprinkle with a little bit of shredded cheddar (again with the buy the block and shred it yourself!!!). Bake in a pre-heated 450* oven for around 10 minutes. You want the crust to be a deep golden brown so that the bottom crust is baked and not doughy. Sometimes we hit right at 10 - other times it's closer to 15! Let the pizza sit for a few minutes before cutting. You can cut it immediately, but all the stuff will slide off. Consequences.
Breadsticks - mix together 2 TBSP softened salted butter (do NOT use margarine. just don't.) and 2 tsp minced garlic. Or do what we do and mix up that whole stick of butter with 8 tsp minced garlic and just keep it in the fridge. Like a boy scout. Be prepared. Spread the amount you'd like on your dough and top with a generous portion of shredded by you mozzarella and just a bit of shredded by you cheddar. Sprinkle lightly with Italian Seasoning. Bake in a preheated 450* oven about 10 minutes (check at 8 - these guys cook pretty quick).
And there you have the best.Instagram.worthy.pizza.and.breadsticks.ever.
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