Pizza Recipes

Pizza

Barbecue Chicken Pizza
Basic Pizza Dough
BLT Pizza
California Veggie Pizza
Chicago-Style Pan (Deep Dish) Pizza
Grilled Shrimp Pizza with Pesto and Green Onions
New York-Style Pizza
Summer Herb Pizza
Thai Chicken Pizza

Basic Pizza Dough

(Yields one 15-inch pizza)
1 cup water (105 to 110)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
3 to 3½ cups bread flour
½ teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil

Add yeast to warm water and let it sit 10 minutes.

Add salt to 1 cup of flour and add to the bowl with the yeast and water. Mix with a wooden spoon. Add another cup of flour and mix. The dough should form a sticky mass. Measure another cup of flour and sprinkle some on the work surface. Place the mass of dough on the surface and begin to knead in the remaining flour. Work the dough with your hands, forming it into a smooth ball. This will take a few minutes. The dough will be ready when it no longer feels sticky.

Rub the surface of the dough with a little vegetable oil and place in a 2-quart bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rest in a warm spot for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch the dough down on a lightly floured work surface. Stretch or pat it into a pizza. Dock with a pizza docker or the tines of a fork.

Summer Herb Pizza

1 recipe basic pizza dough
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ cup pesto sauce
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup grated mozzarella
½ tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or green onions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

Preheat oven to 500°. Brush olive oil on the prepared dough. Spread on the garlic and pesto. Cover the pizza with cheeses. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until crust is golden. Sprinkle fresh chopped herbs on the baked pizza.

Grilled Shrimp Pizza with Pesto and Green Onions

1 recipe basic pizza dough
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled
½ cup prepared pesto sauce
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
½ cup sliced green onions

Preheat oven to 500°. Grill shrimp over a medium heat, turning once until opaque. Cool and cut into bite-sized pieces. Spread pesto sauce evenly over prepared pizza dough. Add shrimp and cover with mozzarella. Bake in preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. Sprinkle pizza with chopped green onions and serve.

California Veggie Pizza

1 recipe basic pizza dough
¾ cup prepared pizza sauce
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
¼ cup sliced black olives
½ cup sliced red onion
½ cup sliced artichoke hearts
3 Roma tomatoes, sliced into rounds
1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Preheat oven to 500°. Spread pizza sauce evenly on prepared pizza dough. Add shredded mozzarella and top with spinach. Add the olives, onions, artichoke hearts and sliced tomatoes. Top the pizza with Feta cheese and oregano. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.

BLT Pizza

1 recipe basic pizza dough
2½ cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
¾ cup crumbled crispy bacon
3 Roma tomatoes, sliced into rounds or
8 to 10 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
3 cups mixed greens
½ cup creamy Italian dressing

Preheat oven to 500°. Lightly brush surface of prepared pizza dough with ¼ cup creamy Italian dressing. Spread one-half of the cheese evenly over the crust. Add the tomatoes and crumbled bacon. Cover pizza with remaining cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. Cut the pizza into 8 slices. Spread the greens that have been tossed in the remaining creamy Italian dressing over the pizza.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

1 recipe basic pizza dough
2 Chicken breasts
Olive oil for sautéing
1 teaspoon minced garlic
¼ cup barbecue sauce
½ cup barbecue sauce
1½ cups shredded Mozzarella
1½ cups shredded smoked Mozzarella
½ cup sliced red onion
½ cup chopped walnuts

Bone and skin chicken breasts. Cut chicken breasts into strips and sauté with garlic and a little olive oil until just cooked through. Toss in a bowl with ½ cup barbecue sauce and let cool in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 500°. Spread ½ cup barbecue sauce evenly over the pizza. Cover with the two cheeses. Add the chicken, followed by the red onion and walnuts. Bake in preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.

Chicago-Style Pan (Deep Dish) Pizza

Dough:
¾ cup scalded (not boiled) milk
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil
2¾ cups flour
¼ cup corn meal
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 pkg. rapid rise yeast
½ cup lukewarm water

This pizza is made in a two-inch deep black pan. The dough recipe is enough for two 14-inch pizzas.

Place salt, sugar and oil into large bowl and blend in the scalded milk. Let cool to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Add dissolved yeast to bowl with salt-sugar-oil-milk mixture. Add about half the flour and beat well. Add remaining flour and cornmeal and beat thoroughly. Turn onto floured board and knead for 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. (About two hours.)

Divide dough into two portions. Oil pizza pan and dust pan bottom with a little cornmeal. Take one portion of dough, roll out to about a 15-inch round roughly ¼-inch thick and place in lightly-oiled pan, pulling the dough up along the edges of the pan to nearly (but not quite) the top. (If making two pizzas, then do the second portion of the dough. If not, immediately freeze the left-over dough.) Set pizza pans with dough aside in a warm moist place, cover, and allow to rise for about ½ hour.

For each 14-inch pizza, you will need:
6 ounces tomato paste
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
½ cup shredded Provolone cheese
¼ cup grated Romano cheese

Seasonings:
Oregano to taste (anywhere between a teaspoon and a tablespoon)
Garlic to taste (About 1½ to 2 tablespoons finely-diced and lightly-toasted) over the initial light layer of cheese
Black pepper to taste
Basil
Toppings (Be creative):
Pepperoni or bulk Italian Sausage
Onion, cut in rings and marinated in garlic oil
Mushrooms marinated in the garlic oil
Roasted and thinly sliced bell pepper

Spread tomato paste over top of the pizza. Mix the Mozzarella and Provolone and sprinkle on an even but not too thick coating of cheese over the tomato paste just enough to provide a foundation for seasonings. You should be able to see the paste under the cheese shreds. Spread most of the oregano (save a dusting for the top) over the cheese, along with the toasted garlic, a little pepper and a little salt. Add most of the remaining Mozzarella-Provolone mix, but not quite all, and half the Romano.

Arrange toppings over the pizza, trying to spread them evenly. Spread the remaining cheeses lightly over the toppings the toppings should still be dominant, but there should be little bits of cheese over them in spots. Dust with the remainder of the oregano, a little black pepper and red pepper flakes. Bake at 375° for 20 to 30 minutes.

New York-Style Pizza

Dough: (Makes enough for 2 pizzas)
1½ cups water at 110°
1 tablespoon sugar
2 pkgs. yeast (or 2 scant tablespoons)
Mix together and let sit until foamy (about 5 minutes) then add:
1 tablespoon salt
4 cups bread flour

Mix and knead until smooth and silky (a softer dough works better than a firm one); let rise for 2 rising, until doubled each time; punch down after each rising.

Sauce:
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 6-ounce can tomato puree
2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
3 teaspoons oregano
1½ teaspoons basil
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon horseradish

Mix all and simmer until done. Bake pizza at 500° for about 12 minutes.

Thai Chicken Pizza

Spicy Peanut Sauce:
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Vietnamese chili sauce or dried chili flakes
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoons water
Thai Chicken Pieces:
1 tablespoon olive oil
10 ounces chicken breasts, boned, skinned and cut into ¾-inch cubes
For the Pizza:
1 recipe basic pizza dough
Cornmeal or flour for handling
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
4 scallions, cut Oriental style
½ cup white bean sprouts
¼ cup shredded carrot
2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Spicy Peanut Sauce: Combine sauce ingredients in a small pan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a boil; boil gently for one minute. Divide into two portions for use on chicken and pizza; set aside.

Thai Chicken: Cook the chicken in olive oil over medium-high heat, stirring, until just cooked, about 5 to 6 minutes. Do not overcook. Set aside in the refrigerator until chilled through. Once chilled, coat the chicken with ¼ cup Spicy Peanut Sauce. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Pizza: Place pizza stone in the center of the oven and preheat to 500° for 30 minutes before cooking the pizzas. Use a large spoon to spread ¼ cup Spicy Peanut Sauce evenly over the surface of the prepared dough. Cover with ¾ cup shredded Mozzarella.

Distribute half the chicken pieces evenly over the cheese followed by half the green onions, bean sprouts and carrots. Sprinkle an additional ¼ cup shredded Mozzarella over the other toppings and top the pizza with 1 tablespoon chopped roasted peanuts.

Transfer the pizza to the oven; bake until the crust is crisp and golden and the cheese at the center is bubbly, 9 to 10 minutes. When cooked through, carefully remove the pizza from the oven. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro. Repeat with remaining ingredients for a second pizza.