I Love Pizza...

I love pizza... Of course I can always order in or take out, but it just doesn’t do it for me. The personal satisfaction I feel when I make it myself and it actually tastes good, makes me so very happy.  I started making pizza a few years ago.  I got a pretty good and easy recipe for pizza dough, only problem was that the dough needed about 2 hours to rise, so if I wanted pizza for lunch I had to make the dough ahead of time, at which point it really would be easier to run out to a local pizzeria and get a slice.  However, about 2 years ago I got a great book called "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day", this book has changed my life for the better.  As you all know, I am a big carb lover, well imagine having dough that can sit in the refrigerator for a few weeks and can be used a bit at a time whenever you feel like it.  The recipe below is just that, you can use it to make a loaf of bread, calzone, breadsticks, flatbread, pizza, you name it.  I keep the dough in a large plastic lidded container and when it runs out I just make a new batch.  I just love being able to bake some fresh bread whenever I want, its fast, easy and so delicious.  The Pizza made with this dough has a pretty crispy crust which I love, and my new Pizza stone makes it taste that much better.  I always keep tomato sauce and cheese in my fridge, and alternate toppings, sometimes its plain, sometimes I add veggies.  The pie above has pepperoni, scallions and broccoli, but you can add any topping you like.
The Master Recipe:
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoon granulated yeast ( 1.5 packets)
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
61/2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all purpose white flour
Directions:
warm water slightly, In a large mixing bowl, add yeast and salt to the water, add flour and mix until you get a uniformly moist dough.  Transfer to a large container, at least 5 QT, I have a large plastic container with a lid that I keep this in.  Let rise for about 2 hours, you will see that the dough will double, even triple in size, and that’s it, once it rises, you can store in the fridge for a few weeks, this dough usually doesn’t last longer than 2 weeks in my fridge because I’m always making something.  By the 2nd week, you will see that the dough will slightly change color and smell, thats because it turns into a sourdough which is even more delicious. 
For the Pizza, roll out, add sauce and cheese, and any other topping you like and bake at 450 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.  Enjoy!
Some of my creations below.

peperroni, spinach and red pepper pie



peperroni and cheese roll



bread rolls