On the weekends I allow myself a tiny bit a lot more liberty with my caloric intake. Never mind the fact that what this really means is that every weekend I single-handedly consume enough carbohydrates to sustain a small indian village...for a month. We don't need to think about that part. Let's just focus on the made from scratch marinara - or "red sawce" as it's called in Joisey (New Jersey). I won't be giving away the recipe for my marinara...that one will have to be pried from my cold, dead, hands - IF I ever write it down. I'm a vault like that. But I will give you my crust. We roll it thin 'cause we're pizza-on-a-cracker kind of people and who needs all that bread anyway. Top it with a marinara or pizza sauce of your choice and pile on the good stuff - here we used fresh mozzarella, italian sausage (cooked first, of course), thinly sliced onions (under the cheese so you can't see them, but I promise they're there) and a light sprinkling of chopped basil followed by a very light drizzle of olive oil. I almost ate the whole thing myself...and I would have if it weren't for three of my four offspring expecting me to feed them too. And the music man - boy can he eat a lot. I keep wondering when his metabolism will slow down - our grocery bill could use the relief. I think next time I'll try substituting oat flour instead of regular white flour...maybe then I can justify my binge with a little less guilt.
Pizza Dough
(makes 2 crusts)
3/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
1 rounded tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. olive oil
2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
Combine water, yeast and sugar in a glass bowl, stirring to dissolve, and let stand about five minutes until foamy. Stir in the oil. Combine flour and salt in a food processor, pulse to combine well. With machine running, scrape yeast mixture through the feed tube; pulsing until the dough forms a ball. On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out and knead until smooth and elastic - 3-5 minutes. Place dough in a large bowl coated with nonstick spray and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm place (about 85 degrees) until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Punch dough down, cut in half, need each half briefly before rolling out into 12 inch round. Place on a warm pizza stone and pile with toppings. Bake your pizza in a 450 degree oven for approximately 10-15 minutes or until toppings are melted and bubbly.
xox,
A
