Homemade Pan Pizza

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Pan PizzaPan pizza is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. But, so often when it comes from a chain in a pizza box – it’s a grease festival. I first made this recipe years ago, when I saw it on Alex Guarnaschelli’s show (love her!) and it was an immediate hit with our family.

The crust is thick and chewy, as well as crispy. Can hold up to any toppings you throw on it. And, isn’t effusively greasy. The crust just absorbs the olive oil to create a wonderfully flavored crust. I went all out fake out take-out style here, creating our own meat lover’s pizza at home. Bacon, ham, and pepperoni – we’ve dubbed it “Porkapalooza”.

Our family never gets tired of pizza night, and this is something different to throw into the rotation. A little more heartier of a pizza for these cold winter months we have ahead of us!

Homemade Pan Pizza

1 batch pizza dough (enough for two 12-inch pizzas)
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups pizza sauce
8 oz whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded
Additional toppings (I used pepperoni, ham, and bacon – it’s been dubbed “Porkapalooza”)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In a 12 inch round cast iron skillet, heat about 4 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Using your hands, gently stretch out your pizza dough to a 12-inch circle. Carefully transfer it to the hot skillet, being careful not to burn yourself. Use a spatula to press gently on the top of the round to keep it relatively flat as it cooks. Cook for 3 minutes.

When you see it is slightly brown on the underside, season the top lightly with salt and flip. Remove from heat. Spread about 3/4 cup sauce evenly over the dough. Sprinkle with half of the mozzarella. Then, top with whatever toppings you like. Place in pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes or so, until cheese is nice and melty.

Repeat with remaining dough and topping. Slice and serve.

Source: adapted from Alex Guarnaschelli

Perfect Pizza Dough

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Perfect Pizza Dough

Who doesn’t love pizza? I know we do. Once a week in our house, usually Friday nights, is pizza night. I make the dough in the afternoon while the boys are napping, enjoy a cup of tea while the dough rises (or maybe try to catch a little catnap myself!), and then I let the boys help to top the pizza before we put it in the oven.

Turning out a pizza as good (if not better) than your local pizza joint’s requires a few things: #1 – a hot oven. #2 – a pizza stone. And, #3 – practice. When I first started making pizzas at home, I had a really hard time rolling out the dough. They’d tasted great, but were severely mishapen. I think that was my problem; I was rolling, not stretching with my hands and letting the dough do all the work.

After a couple of attempts I was producing perfectly round pizza doughs, and all was right with the world. It’s a rarity for us to order a pizza out anymore; partly because there aren’t any decent pizzerias in our small town, and also because they’re just so dag-gone fun to make at home!

If you haven’t found the perfect pizza dough recipe yet, look no further. Using bread flour is the key to a crispy, chewey crust. And, it’s a dream to work with! Let the pizza delivery guy pass your house by next time you’re craving pizza, and make it at home. I’m sharing my recipe for homemade pan pizza next week, so make sure to check in then!

Perfect Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup water, at room temperature
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the bread flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend. Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture. With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast mixture, as well as the olive oil. Mix until a cohesive dough is formed. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Press down the dough to deflate it. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball. Cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough relax for 20 minutes.

To bake, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500? F for at least 30 minutes. Transfer the dough to your shaping surface, lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Shape the dough with lightly floured hands. Brush the outer edge lightly with olive oil. Top as desired. Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.

Source: adapted from Baking Illustrated, via Annie’s Eats

Recipe Roundup: Gift Ideas

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Christmas is rapidly approaching, and the list of who I want to give “a little something” to continues to grow. That’s why over the years I’ve turned to making homemade gift baskets. To me, there is nothing more special than a gift from someone’s kitchen. So, here’s a few of my favorites that I wanted to share with you guys!

Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl Bread

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread – I find myself baking this loaf to enjoy for breakfast weekly. Kicks the pants off of anything you’d buy in the store. And, who wouldn’t be tickled with a home-baked loaf of fresh bread for a gift?

Chiotle-Honey Roasted Peanuts

Chipotle-Honey Roasted Peanuts – love the sweet and spicy combination on these guys. Packaged up in a cute little tin, they make a great gift. Beware though, they’re addicting!

Chocolate Cherry Coconut Granola

Chocolate Cherry Coconut Granola – everyone loves a fresh, healthy start after the Holidays. Some homemade granola is a great way to help them get kick-started!

DIY Strawberry Vodka

DIY Strawberry Vodka – a bottle of vodka. Some strawberries. 1 week. That’s all you need to make this vibrant strawberry vodka at home. Wonderful in cocktails, on it’s own – this is a great way to warm up a cold winter’s night!

Pimento Cheese

Homemade Pimento Cheese – it always astonishes me when people say they’ve only had pimento cheese from a jar. Do them a favor, and make this! It’s perfect for any Christmas party or buffet.

Homemade Caramel Sauce

Homemade Caramel Sauce – and last but certainly not least, caramel sauce. There isn’t much that I don’t put this stuff on – it really is just glorious. This was my first year getting familiar with making caramel in my kitchen, so I’m looking forward to including this in my gift baskets this year!

I hope you guys are having as much fun getting ready for Christmas as I am. Looking forward to menu planning for the Holidays this week, then get started on all my baking. Look for a cookie roundup here sometime in the next week or so. Happy Holidays!

Cranberry Relish

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Cranberry sauce has long been my favorite thing at the Thanksgiving dinner table. For many years I preferred the kind from the can. There was something about that sweet-tart magenta cylinder of gelatin that I adored. Then I made my own a few years ago, and couldn’t go back to store-bought. Imagine that!

At first I started with a pure, unadulterated cranberry sauce. But over the years I’ve added things. Orange juice and zest, as well as toasted pecans. It’s sweet, it’s savory, it’s tart – it’s wonderful. And, leftovers are killer on turkey sandwiches. I’m looking forward to sharing a few other Thanksgiving recipes with you guys next week, so make sure to check back. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Cranberry Relish

12 oz fresh cranberries
3/4 cup sugar
zest from 1 orange or tangerine
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup pecan halves

Toast the pecans in a small, dry skillet over medium heat for a few minutes – until starting to brown and are fragrant. Set aside to cool, and then roughly chop.

In a large saucepan combine the cranberries, sugar, water, and orange juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once cranberries begin to burst, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat, and stir in pecans and orange zest. Place into small serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use.