Pizza is the universal word for “delicious”. It is one of those foods that I never grow tired of. I will eat it with just about any topping except for anchovies (no hairy fish for this chick) and pineapple (emphatically NO). While there are many places that make one heck of a pie, nothing is like homemade pizza.

Until recently, I have never attempted to make pizza at home. The issue for me is the yeast. You could say that I have a yeast phobia. I see yeast in the ingredient list, and I just turn the page.

But then my mom gave me her recipe for pizza dough and I thought, what is the worst that can happen? I throw away some flour? So I gave it a try last year, and what do you know? It turns out that yeast isn’t so scary. In fact, not only did I make pizza…it was actually good pizza! I absolutely made it again and again. Each time it got easier and easier and the pizza was better and better. Before you know it, I had conquered my fear of yeast…kind of.

Yesterday was Pizza Day:

I used one 5Lb bag of all purpose unbleached flour (if you are going to make pizza…might as well make enough for leftovers), 1tsp sugar, 1Tbsp salt, 1c whole milk, 2 large eggs, 3 envelopes yeast (not fast acting), 4c warm water, 4Tbsp olive oil. I mixed the dry ingredients in a large pot. Then I dissolved the yeast in the warm water and added it to the dry mixture along with the oil, eggs, and milk. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. If it is too dry add small amounts of warm water. You want the dough to be somewhat elastic and easily pull away from the sides of the container you are kneading it in. It should also easily pull away from your hands. Then cover the dough with a clean cloth and set it in a warm place. Set a timer for two hours and then uncover the dough and push it down in the pot. Re-cover, and allow to rise again for another 2 hours in a warm place. I let the dough rise at two hour intervals three times. The more you allow the dough to rise, the better the crust on your pizza will be. Make sure you cook the pizza in a preheated 450 degree oven. To ensure the cheese doesn’t burn, allow the pizza to cook for about 10 minutes with just sauce and then add mozzarella and any other toppings and allow to cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

While I have somewhat conquered my fear of yeast, I am still reluctant to venture too far into the unknown. For now, I will concentrate on pizza…who knows, maybe next year it will be bread.

Buon appetito!