The Best Homemade Pizza Dough

Friday night’s are pizza nights at our house. We either order delivery or visit our favorite pizzerias for dinner on their patios. But this past weekend, we made our own and dined on our own patio!

This was the first time I’ve made homemade pizza dough and it was no where near as intimidating as I had believed it would be. It was very easy to prepare. The longest and maybe hardest part was leaving it alone for 2 hours so it could do it’s thing and double in size. Thank goodness I had a few projects, (decorating our front porch), to keep me busy so I wasn’t constantly taking a peek at the dough’s process.

The recipe I used for this homemade pizza dough comes from The Food Nanny and their cookbook that features all things Kamut Flour. If I haven’t mentioned this in my previous posts, KAMUT Flour has changed my world! It’s so much easier to digest so it hasn’t affected me as most bleached flours do. And the taste is unbeatable, in my opinion.

Step 2: Stir in the Olive Oil, salt, and Kamut Flour. Use a wooden spoon, or baker dough whisk (MY FAVORITE) to combine ingredients together. Start kneading. The dough will come together. I prefer to knead mine by hand, by dusting a service with flour and kneading for 10 minutes. You may also use a stand mixer with a dough hook.

Step 3: Pour a drop of Olive Oil in the bowl you mixed the dough in and place the dough back in the bowl. Cover with a light weight dish towel and let rise for 2 hours.

The kids were so excited to build their own pizzas. My husband fired up the grill and purchased a stone just for this occasion. We sat outside and played card games while each of our pizzas took turn to cook.

Step 4: Punch the dough and divide into 3 parts (or 6 for individual size pizzas, which is what we did.) Let these portions rest for 15 minutes. Then begin building your pizzas.

Since this was our first time making pizza from scratch, I kept the toppings pretty simple. The kids and hubby reached for the traditional toppings of pepperoni, olives, and cheese. While momma went for a more light version with olive oil, pesto sauce, tomatoes, and mozzarella. It was delicious!

We had a blast staying home and making this meal together. Not to mention the money we saved! 😉 If there was one thing I would want my blog to represent, it’s this…….FAMILY meal times. This time around our table whether it’s out on the patio or around our farmhouse table is priceless to me. It’s telling jokes and guessing riddles. It’s sharing our days, our dreams, our hopes. It’s giving thanks to all that God has given us. It’s depositing coins in our memory banks. It’s part of what holds our family together.

White Kamut Pizza Dough – The Food Nanny

• 1/2 cup of warm milk
• 1/2 cup of warm water
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 3/4 cups White Kamut Flour
• 2 teaspoons French gray course salt

Directions

1. Heat grill to 350 degrees. Allow stone to heat up for 30 minutes to an hour.
2. Warm milk to lukewarm. In a large bowl, combine lukewarm milk and lukewarm water. Stir in sugar. Sprinkle yeast on and gently stir. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the olive oil, flour, and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon or Baker’s Dough Whisk. (You can also use a stand mixer with a dough hook.) Begin kneading for 10 minutes. If dough is still sticky, add a little dusting of flour to a flat surface and until smooth and elastic.
4. Place 1/4 teaspoon of olive oil in the same bowl your dough was mixed in. Place dough in bowl and cover with a light weight kitchen towel to rise for 2 hours.
5. Punch dough and divide into 3 parts (6 for individual size pizzas.) Let rest for 15 minutes.
6. Take your portion of dough and begin to shape it till your heart’s content. Build with your favorite toppings and place on stone for 10-13 minutes.

Have fun and enjoy!