… Homemade pizza, a recipe

So as I commented in the previous post, homemade pizza is a regular meal in our house. I think there’s some irony to the fact that the recipe that we use is a NYTimes recipe. The recipe we use is from the New York Times Natural Foods Cookbook. I don’t remember when I got my copy. The copyright is 1971. We got married in 1974. Neither of us can remember if this was a wedding present or when we got it. In any case, it’s quite a lot simpler than the pizza recipe cited in the previous post.

In contrast to the recipe in the NYTimes Magazine and the video, this is a simpler recipe. We like it because it’s quick and easy and produces a crisp crust. I think that the recipe demonstrated in the previous post is a more puffy and bready. (I suppose I should try it, but I didn’t before this post.)

So the main thing in this recipe is the dough. After that’s made, all you have to do is add what you like as toppings. We like to keep it simple. Usually vegetarian. One or two toppings (in addition to cheese.)

Pizza Dough (NYTimes Natural Foods Cookbook, 1971)

1½ tsp. dry yeast
½ c. warm water
1½ c. flour
1 tbsp. olive oil

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in flour and oil. Knead dough slightly until smooth and satiny, about 3 minutes. Place dough in oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until at least doubled in bulk (40 minutes or more). Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spread dough over well-oiled pizza pan. Bake until crust is brown and crisp. Add toppings and bake until cheese is melted.

Toppings: We always make vegetarian pizzas. Usually we use pesto as a base; you can use tomato sauce if you’d rather. Then add two or three toppings; our common ones are black olives, tomatoes, or artichoke hearts. Then we top it with mozzarella or parmesan cheese.