brian and rosco make pizza

we love making pizza, and we make a pretty good pie, if i do say so myself! rosco is  a  "big help" in the kitchen, always willing to do any taste testing and cleaning up whatever finds its way to the floor...

here is the recipe we use for pizza dough. it's from the cookbook "cucina simpatica" from the owners of  al forno in providence, rhode island. it's a great recipe and works best if you use a pizza stone. preheat your oven to 450 degrees with the stone in the oven.

2 1/2 teas. active dry yeast (i use 1 T.)
1 cup warm water
pinch of sugar
2 1/4 teas. kosher salt
1/4 cup johnnycake meal or fine-ground white cornmeal
3 T. whole-wheat flour
1 T. virgin olive oil
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1. dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the sugar.

2. after 5 minutes stir in the salt, johnnycake meal, whole-wheat flour and oil.

3. gradually add the white flour, stirring with a wooden spoon until a stiff dough has formed. (i always make this in a kitchen aid mixer-much easier all the way around!!)

4. place the dough on a floured board and knead it for several minutes, adding only enough additional flour to keep the dough from sticking. (again, i do the kneading in the mixer)

5. when the dough is smooth and shiny, transfer it to a bowl that has been brushed with olive oil. to prevent a skin from forming, brush the top of the dough with additional olive oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place away from drafts, until double in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

6. punch down the dough and knead once more. let the dough rise again for about 40 minutes.

7. punch down the dough. if it is sticky knead in a bit more flour.

makes enough dough for 2 large pizzas!

yum! well worth the effort and fun to do! enjoy!!