Getting Ready

Originally published at Creative Thoughts. You can comment here or there.

On Facebook/Twitter I posted that I had prepared some homemade pizza dough to freeze. I suddenly had responses requesting I share the recipe and the instructions on freezing. This is the first time I am making the dough in advance. It is a Friday afternoon tradition for me to make pizza from scratch. Becca and J love it. Ethan isn't into anything with tomatoes so really I should be trying something else for him at some point.

I wanted to try out the food processor for kneading the dough. Though I love doing it by hand, it was super quick to toss it all in and make 4 batches! Here is the recipe I like to use (non food processor):

Homemade Pizza Crust (2 - 12 inch pizzas)

• 1 cup warm water


• 1 packet active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)


• 2 1/2 - 3 cups unbleached flour (I substitute 1 cup whole wheat)


• 2 tbs olive oil (plus oil for the bowl and pan)


• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Place the water (quite hot from the tap, especially if using a glass bowl) in mixing bowl & sprinkle yeast over top. Mix gently until fully dissolved. Stir in half the flour, 2 tbs oil & salt. Using a wooden spoon combine well, then gradually add the rest of the flour.


2. The dough should be a sticky mass. As it begins to stick together & come away from the sides of the bowl, turn it out on a floured surface and begin to knead.


3. Knead until the dough is no longer sticky (usually about 10 minutes). I usually rinse out the bowl I used to mix then lightly oil it, roll the kneaded dough into a ball then roll the ball around until the surface is coated with oil. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap (ew, we do not use plastic wrap, so I cover mine with a dish towel, like my Grandma always did to rise her homemade buns). Ket stand in a warm place for 1-2 hours (I am usually not organized enough to let it rise longer than an hour, although I love my crusts more the longer they rise) or until doubled in size.


4. Uncover the bowl & punch down the risen dough, expelling the gases.


5. Place dough on lightly floured surface & cut in half. Starting in the middle & working out, roll each half into a circle slightly larger than your baking pan. (I have a huge pizza pan so I do not cut, intsead have a slightly thicker crust) Allow the dough to relax for a minute or tow before transferring it to a pizza pan (my pan is getting older so I have to oil it lightly with a bruch then sprinkle it with cornmeal before I place the dough on top)

So can add so many things to your crust, this is just the basic starting point. With kids I reccomend starting off basic and working up to adding herbs, onions, spinach, cheeses. You would add these after the dough has risen, then allow the dough to rise again.

We use tomato paste as our sauce then add ham and mozzarella cheese on top. Very simple but well loved by my almost five year old. I have used cooked chicken as well.

To freeze, make your crusts, when you punch them down form them into disks. Lightly flour a freezer bag and place dough inside. Some websites say you can store for 4 weeks to 4 months. I wouldn't want the dough in there for too long though. So I made 4 weeks worth. It is recommended that you take the dough out to thaw in the fridge the night before you want to make the pizza. Then let it rise as you would if you made it fresh!

I will let you know next week if the dough turns out ok. I just picked up a baking stone that I want to try out for pizza, however I read that I need a screen as well so I haven't used it yet.

I hope this helps you in making your own pizza! My Grandma got me started with it last year and we love it. It is easy to do once you try :) I still want to make some more meals in advance as I have less to do once the baby arrives, so please share your favourite make it, and freeze it for later ideas!

Do you make your own pizza? Any thoughts to add?