Looking a little generic around here...
Please bear with me as I fix some Movable Type issues I'm having. I've reverted to the default version for now, but a new banner and other nifty things are forthcoming. I'm also aware that my site looks a little wonky in Mozilla and am trying to make sense out of my scary coding done four (four!!) years ago.
For the time being, here is a cute picture of of Kumi and her friends making pizza. My friend took the shot as I was busy trying to pass around the toppings. As you can see, Kumi is chomping on raw pizza while her friends diligently decorate. It was so much fun!! I made the dough from scratch using a combination of wheat and white flour to make it a little healthier. It was surprisingly easy and very yummy and the kids absolutely loved the whole process. I told my neighbor about it later and she said "that's very Montessori of you." I did feel a little like I was channeling Martha Stewart, if anything.
Here's the recipe:
1 tsp fast rising yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose white flour
2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup water
For the topping:
1 cup pizza sauce (I got mine from Trader Joe's)
1 8 oz package of mozzarella cheese
Assorted chopped vegetables and anything else you like on your pizza
1. Mix the wheat and white flour together
2. Combine half the flour mix with the salt and yeast. Stir to blend. Add 1 cup of water and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth
3. Add the remaining flour a little bit at a time while stirring. When the dough gets too stiff for the wooden spoon, begin kneading the dough (I kept it in the bowl while kneading). Continue to add little bits of flour until the dough is smooth but still quite moist. This takes about 10 minutes
4. Grease a bowl with a splash of olive oil and place the dough in it. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise for at least an hour in a warm, draft-free area. **according to the recipe I used from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything", the dough should double in size, but my dough remained pretty much the same size but was slightly puffier. The crust came out great so don't be discouraged if the dough doesn't rise.**
5. While the dough is rising, chop up your favorite toppings. I used green bell peppers, grape tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, onions and left over parmesan chicken.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
7. When the dough is ready, divide them into as many pieces as you like and create your pizza masterpieces!
8. Cook for 12-15 minutes
