Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The Honest Truth



UPDATED: I honestly thought today was Friday when I wrote this post, so just go with it… okay?

I would love to tell you I’ve been away for two weeks to an exotic local or that I’ve been so busy building/crafting/making cheese that I just haven’t sat down at the computer. That would be an outright lie. 

The truth is I’ve done nothing but drag my computer around for the last two weeks. I’m getting precariously close to finishing my master’s thesis and it’s beginning to occupy every spare brain cell, every minute of my day and every spare inch of floor and table space at our house. I have an entire shelf of books in my living room that I have purchased (because the library didn’t have them) in addition to the library ones that were returned last semester (oh happy day!).  Most of what has taken over every flat surface in my house is stack upon stack of printed research articles from tier 1, peer reviewed journals (the creme de la creme of research articles…. the good stuff). 

The most domestic thing I’ve done in two weeks is make pizza and sweep my floors (it’s been done more than once… promise). Since its Friday, and at our house the Friday night tradition is pizza, I’ve decided to share my super simple pizza crust recipe with you! Make pizza for your family tonight and remember how great it feels to be in the kitchen. 

The Red Homestead Official Pizza Crust Recipe
This produces a very soft dough that is pushed out on a seasoned baking stone (or cookie sheet) that yields a crisp outside and soft , delicate inside.
1 c hot tap water
2 ½ tsp dry active yeast ( I like Red Star)
2 tsp sugar
2 tbl olive oil +more for hands
2 ½ - 3 c all purpose flour
Combine the first 3 ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer and let set until it produces a foam (5-10 minutes depending on your yeast). Attach the dough hook to your mixer. Add 2 ½ c flour and olive oil. Mix on medium until combined. Reduce to kneading speed (that’s  speed setting 2 on my machine) and slowly add flour until dough no longer sticks to the bowl (you want to add as little as possible). Kneed for 2 minutes. Place towel over bowl and let rest 45min – 1 hour, until doubled. Punch down and scoop out onto a lightly greased baking sheet or seasoned baking stone. Cover your hands in olive oil and push dough into desired shape and size. Pre-bake at 500 degrees until edges just begin to brown, 5-7 minutes. Top any way you choose, put a little butter along edge of crust, sprinkle with a little salt and garlic and put it back into the oven until the cheese is bubbly. Yum!!

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