It’s been a while. Again. Still been making new recipes. Still forgetting to take pictures. I’ve been lazy.
But there is something I have been spending my time taking pictures of. Surprise! There is a new addition to our family. Three weeks ago, a little French bulldog moved into our house. Her name is Pancake.
It’s been an adventure. Neither of us have owned or trained a dog before so we enrolled into a puppy class. Pancake is becoming proficient at playing fetch, and she’s great at sitting, but now that she has learned that sitting equals treats, walking on a leash has become more difficult. She will walk a few steps, sit, and wait for a treat. It’s only been three weeks so hopefully she will get the hang of it soon.
Our kitchen also has experienced a new milestone. I finally made something using yeast! I’ve been saying for months that I wanted to learn how to make dough, but every time the opportunity arose, I opted for Pillsbury’s.
This lazy streak has come to an end! Matt is an avid woodworker (the best if you ask me!) and he subscribes to every woodworking show, blog, youtube channel. One of the woodworkers he follows had a post about making a pizza peel with a recipe for tomato pie which included a homemade crust. Matt took it as a sign that it was time for me to finally learn to work with yeast. Clever guy 🙂
I love this tomato pie recipe because of the simplicity of it. While I love a pizza piled with toppings, sometimes you crave the bare necessities. Plus, you make this pizza up-side-down. The cheese is the first topping with the sauce on top. This unique structure and simple ingredients enhances the flavor of the pizza. It was the perfect recipe for me to start my journey working with yeast. And we’ve now made this pizza over 10 times. I’d say it’s a keeper! And I now consider myself a “yeast expert.” Well, as long as it involves this recipe…
Ingredients
- One package of dry yeast
- One cup warm water
- Pinch of sugar
- One teaspoon salt
- Two cups flour
- Two cans diced tomatoes
- Three cloves garlic, minced
- Handful of fresh herbs (basil, parsley, oregano), optional
- Mozzarella cheese (either shredded or cubed)
Directions
Combine the package of dry yeast, warm water, and the pinch of sugar. Use a fork to break up clumps and let it stand for 5 minutes.
Add teaspoon of salt to the yeast mixture. With a wooden spoon, mix in one cup of flour and break up clumps (we use our KitchenAid mixer). Add the second cup of flour and stir until the mixture starts to come away cleanly from the bowl.
Dump dough on a surface with flour and cornmeal and kneed for 8-10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball. Coat a bowl with oil and place dough into the bowl. Cover with a warm, damp cloth. Let it sit in a warm place for 30-50 minutes while it rises. Either in an oven or if it’s summer, you can just keep it in your non-air conditioning house (wait, we are the only family left in America without central air?!).
While the dough rises, you can make the sauce. Take two cans of diced tomatoes, garlic, and herbs and mix together in a blender.
Once you can poke the dough and it leaves an impression of your fingers, the dough is ready. Preheat the oven at 475 degrees. Place a pizza stone with oil in the oven to heat up.
Punch the dough to get the air out. Place on a coated flour and cornmeal surface. Cut it into two sections as it will make two crusts. Kneed the dough into a crust.
Top crust with cheese first. Cover cheese with the sauce (add any additional toppings, such as green olives–the best topping) and cook for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Enjoy!!
Source: The Wood Whisperer
