Perfect Pizza Crust

No, it's not just good pizza crust or even great pizza crust - this truly is the perfect pizza crust recipe. Given to me by one of my besties (she came over to make me pizza AND then cleaned my kitchen after I had the baby!) Amazing? Yes I think so :) I don't have a picture yet, it gets eaten too fast! But I am sure I will get one up soon because we are now pronouncing a weekly pizza day in our house. 

What are your favorite topping combinations? We love Canadian bacon with sweet onions and pineapple on one side and mushrooms with bell pepper and pepperoni on the other side and we are all happy campers! Ive also put motz. cheese folded under the crust... it is so great. I'd imagine this recipe would be great for bread sticks too.

 

Perfect Pizza Crust

Yeilds: 2 pizza crusts
 

2 cups warm water

4 1/2 tsp. active yeast

5 cups plus 3 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp kosher salt

Olive Oil

 

Preset your oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl mix the water, yeast and 2 Tbsp flour for a couple seconds. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp flour on top. Place aside for 2-3 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl wisk together the rest of the flour and salt. Pour in the yeast mixture and stir together until fully incorporated. Kneed the dough for a full five minutes on a floured surface adding a bit more flour if dough is too sticky. Split dough in half and put in a bowl covered with plastic wrap for 20 minutes.

Roll rested dough out to desired size. Poke the entire surface with a fork and then brush the entire surface lightly with olive oil. Place on pizza stone or a greased pizza pan. Add your favorite sauce, cheese and toppings. Bake for 20 minutes.

 

*A GREAT sauce is much easier then you think. Just pour tomato sauce on the uncooked dough, sprinkle with garlic salt and italian seasoning (i like to extend the seasonings out to the crust) Top with mozzarella cheese and toppings, and enjoy!

 

 

 

Ranch Chicken Pizza

Recipe and photo courtesy of Annie's Eats

Made this for dinner tonight... Yumma!

Chicken Ranch Pizza

Ingredients:
½ batch of perfect pizza crust (or Fresh and Easy also has a fab pizza dough in the fridge section)
¼ cup Ranch dressing
¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½-1 grilled chicken breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces I grilled mine over the stovetop with a teriyaki sauce)
1 tomato, seeded and diced
2-3 green onions, chopped
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven and a pizza stone to 500° F. Allow the stone to heat for at least 30 minutes. In the mean time, cut a round of parchment paper the size of your pizza stone. (Alternatively, use a pizza peel.) Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal or semolina flour. Gently roll out the pizza dough into a large circle, leaving a thicker ring around the edge for the crust. Spread the Ranch dressing in a thin layer evenly over the unbaked crust. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Top with grilled chicken, tomato and green onions. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar. Once assembled, carefully transfer the parchment round and pizza to the preheated baking stone and return to the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and browned. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

BBQ Chicken Pizza

12" pizza dough (my fav is from Fresh and Easy, seriously so good and easy!)
3 Tbsp. bbq sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's)
3 Tbsp. ranch dressing

Roll out dough into a 12 inch circle and transfer onto a greased pizza stone or pan. Mix Bbq sauce and ranch together and spread on to unbaked crust.

1 cooked and shredded chicken breast (I season with garlic salt pepper, etc whatever is in the cupboard!)
1 small diced tomato
1 c. fresh spinach
1/2 c. sweet onion (I used red onion)
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro
2 slices turkey bacon, chopped
A few squirts of Bbq sauce, eyeball it.

Mozzarella or pepper jack cheese

Combine these ingredients, except for the cheese, in a bowl and mix until blended. Pour on top of crust. Sprinkle cheese on top of toppings and place in a preheated oven. (425 for 15 minutes)

You can sprinkle some more fresh cilantro on top before serving