Pizza Night Redefined

I was reading an article in Southern Living about making your own pizza dough, so of course I had to take a shot. This was my first experience making pizza dough. It was interesting to say the least. At first I didn't think it would rise, it seemed to be expanding into a blob instead of rising. After I rolled out the dough, it took about 5 or 10 minutes to transfer it from counter to baking sheet. And, the cherry on top, I set off the fire alarm. But it was successful in that Alex seemed to like it. I've learned a few things to help it go more smoothly next time - for example rolling the dough out onto aluminum foil, so it can be picked up and placed on the baking sheet easily. Definitely a fun change from the usual dialing our local pizza spot.

I actually made the dough yesterday, because it takes about 3 hours for the dough to rise. I just put it in the fridge, but it can also be stored in the freezer for up to a month. Alex made a pepperoni pizza. I set out to remake my favorite pizza at Brick's Cafe, a Vegetable Lover's pizza with cilantro pesto. Vegetables by themselves can be boring, but the cilantro is an unexpected flavor that makes this pizza more interesting. I used my own homemade tomato sauce, but you could use any jared version you like.

For the dough:
3 1/2 to 4 cups of all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of warm water (100-110 degrees)
1 teaspoon of yeast, or one yeast packet
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of sugar
Pinch of salt

Mix the flour with the yeast, salt, and sugar. Slowly add the water and olive oil while mixing, either by hand or with an electric mixer with a hook attachment. Mix until the dough comes together, pour out onto a floured surface, kneed until the dough forms a smooth ball. Place the dough into a greased bowl (using about a teaspoon of olive oil), cover the bowl with plastic wrap, allow to rise in a warm place for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Punch the dough down, cut the dough in half. Cover with a damp towel, allow the dough to rise for about another hour until doubled in size. At this point, the dough can be placed in the fridge in an air tight container. Roll the dough out onto a well floured service using a rolling pin, to about 1/4 inch thickness. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the dough on a cookie sheet, or pizza stone sprinkle with cornmeal to keep the dough from sticking. Cover the dough in a thin layer of tomato sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and toppings ( I used cilantro pesto [cilantro, olive oil, salt, pepper, lime juice, pulse in a food processor], broccoli, squash, and zucchini). Bake for ~ 20 minutes, or until the crust just begins to brown.