Pizza

I have tried my hand at pizza making a few times with reasonable success, thanks to this easy to follow recipe from New York Times. Unfortunately, they no longer run the special segment called Cooking With Times anymore and so this recipe also disappeared together with all the other wonderful archives on their site.

After making the dough, I left it in my fridge for close to 24 hours (not intentional though) and the dough seems to taste slightly better than the previous times I made it with only 90 min of proofing. I guess 90 min is the bare minimum proofing required and anything longer is just a plus.

Toppings are just about anything goes! But anything mestled between a generously curtain of mozzarella cheese and a wonderful thin crust is good enough for me!

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Pizza Dough
(adapted from NYTimes)
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1 tbsp active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil

1. Pour 1/2 cup warm water (about 45 degC) in a measuring cup. Stir in yeast and let stand until yeast dissolves and turn creamy, 5 min.
2. Using a mixer with dough hook, combine flour and salt in the mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre, and fill it with yeast mixture, olive oil and a cup of warm water. Turn on the mixer and mix till the dough comes together. Add a little flour if te dough is too tacky, or add a few drops of water if the dough is dry and hard. The objective is to achieve a smooth and elastic dough.
3. Shape into a ball and turn the dough into a large oiled bowl. Turning once to coat. Cover the bowl loosely with a cling film. Let rise in a warm place till doubled in size, about 90 min.
4. Punch down and divde dough into four equal portions before using.