Recipe for Pizza & its Homemade Dough

Ingredients

Pizza dough

• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 1 1/3 cups tempered water
• 1 tablespoonolive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey (or agave nectar for a vegan version)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 ¾ cups La Milanaise tipo "00" pizza flour
• You can substitute the flour for another (results may vary), but this one gives the best results.

Toppings

• Pizza sauce
• Dairy or vegan mozzarella cheese
• Candied olives (if you don't like olives, replace them with something lightly salted like capers or marinated artichokes)
• Genovese or veggie pesto
• Other toppings : sun-dried tomatoes, pine nutsgrilled vegetables, arugulaetc. 

Preparation

• In a large mixing bowl, add the instant yeast, water, olive oil, sweetener and salt. Whisk until smooth. Add the pizza flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the flour has completely absorbed the liquids.
• Continue mixing the pizza dough with your hands until smooth, then form into a ball. Transfer the pizza dough ball to the large mixing bowl and cover with a damp dishcloth. Let stand for 45 minutes at room temperature.

•  After 45 minutes. The pizza dough will have puffed up and doubled in size. Remove the dough from the bowl and transfer to a floured surface.

• Knead lightly without crushing the bubbles formed in the dough (these bubbles will help the crust to rise during baking). Re-form dough into a ball and let rest for 10 minutes on floured countertop.

• Place the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425°C.°F and place a ceramic pizza pan on the rack (if you don't have a ceramic pan, refer to step 7).
• While the oven is preheating, prepare all pizza toppings, including grated cheese and vegetables.
• Prepare the pizza dough by gently stretching it with your hands. It's not advisable to use a rolling pin, as this will result in a dense, flattened crust. If you don't have a ceramic baking sheet, use a round metal baking tray lined with parchment paper. Place the dough on the parchment paper and push it towards the edges with your fingers, taking care not to tear the dough. If the pastry does tear, simply fold it over and glue it back together.
• Top the pizza with sauce, cheese and your choice of toppings.
• Place in the oven for 15 minutes.

Let stand 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Enjoy your meal!
The team at La Boite à Grains
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Recipe design :
Véronique Cousineau, ND