Lisa’s Pizza (Dough)

Most pizzas are all about the toppings!  This recipe, however is all about the dough.  This is a fun, unusual recipe that you will love.  I don’t know where it came from other than my mama.  She used to make it for me when I was a kid, and yesterday I pulled it out again… I don’t know how I forgot about it for so long because I think this will become a new old favorite!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of flour                        
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt                          
• 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil                 
• 1 cup tomato juice (warm)
• 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper                
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Tomato/marinara/pizza sauce of choice
• Cheese of choice, I use mozzarella
• Toppings of choice

Steps:

1. Stir sugar and yeast into warmed tomato juice and place in warm, draft free place for
   5 minutes.
2. Combine flour, salt, basil and pepper in a bowl. 
3. Combine olive oil with tomato juice mixture and stir into flour mixture.
4. Turn out onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic (5-10 minutes).
5. Cover with towel and let rise in a warm place to double its size (about 1
   hour).
6. Punch down and pat into a greased 12 inch deep dish pizza pan.
7. Let rise for about 30 more minutes covered with a towel in a warm place. 
8. Preheat oven to 475 F.
9. Brush pizza lightly with olive oil.
10. Top as desired.
11. Place pizza on bottom rack of oven and bake for 5 minutes.
12. Lower the temp of your over to 400 F and bake for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden.

Timing: Because of the cayenne pepper crust, I would wait until 1 year to introduce.

Difficulty: 3 out of 5, its not that hard, but I am always nervous about how much the dough “rises”.

Miscellaneous:

• You can also make this with whole wheat flour without sacrificing flavor, but you must make it with a little less flour.  I recommend first making it with white flour so that you have an idea of the dough’s consistency.
• It is very important that you put the dough in a WARM place.  I put mine on the radiator.
• I make this on a baking stone, not a deep dish pizza pan, and it works fine.
• I also find that it does not need to cook quite as long as the instructions say, but I know that each oven is different.

Epicutie Rating: Yummy in the Tummy! ----See right side of the page for descriptions

She gobbled it right up that day and the next! Hooray.

Also, don’t forget about our fundraiser for Kai!  For a donation of ANY AMOUNT (even $1), you can be entered to win a 13 cup Kitchen Aid Processor!  For details, click here:

• http://littletummyyummies.blogspot.com/2011/11/help-kai-and-win-13-cup-kitchen-aid.html