Quick Homemade Pizzas

Quick Homemade Pizzas

Start to finish this pizza can be made and enjoyed in about an hour, which is a remarkably quick recipe for pizzas.

 Ingredients:

Dough: (this makes 1 pizza dough. Double it for 2 pizzas)

• 3⁄4 cup warm water 110F/43C (175ml)
• 1 packet Instant or Rapid yeast (2 1⁄4 teaspoon)
• 2-2 1⁄3 cups all-purpose flour OR bread flour divided (250-295g)
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons sugar
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8-1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder and/or dried basil leaves optional
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil + additional
• 1 egg yolk
• 1⁄2 Tbsp. water

Toppings (this is enough for 2+ pizzas):

• 1 8oz. brick of mozzarella, shredded (avoid the pre-shredded if you can)
• 1 8oz. brick of any Jack or Colby cheese, shredded (avoid the pre-shredded if you can)
• 1 16oz can of crushed tomatoes (any crushed tomatoes will work. My favorite is Bianco DiNapoli. Just avoid anything with sugar in the ingredients)
• pepperoni, peppers, jalapeno, pineapple, fresh basil … this part is entirely up to you!

Equipment:

• 2 Large mixing bowls
• Kitchen scale
• Liquid measuring cup
• Baking sheet or pizza stone for the pizza
• Parchment paper, 1 sheet per pizza dough

 Directions:

1. If using Instant yeast, skip to step 2. If using Rapid Rise yeast, follow the rest of step 1. Add your yeast to your warm water, stir, and cover with plastic wrap for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast is bubbly and active.
2. Add the flour, sugar, salt, and garlic powder/basil leaves to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. If using Instant yeast, add and whisk to combine as well. Take half of your flour mixture and add it to your second mixing bowl, along with the hot water (and Rapid Rise yeast) and stir to combine. You’ll have a fairly wet dough at this point. Add half of the still dry flour mixture to the wet dough and mix to combine. Then add the last of the dry ingredients and mix to combine. At this point, it’s usually easier to mix the dough by hand. Add 2 Tbsp. olive oil and mix that into the dough. It should still be a little sticky or tacky, but not wet. Coat the inside of a large mixing bowl with olive oil and transfer the dough to the oiled bowl, rotating the dough to ensure every surface has a little oil on it. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 30-minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.
3. Preheat the oven to 425F with your pan(s) or pizza stone inside. Start prepping the toppings for your pizza (shred the cheese, chop your peppers, etc.). Once your dough has doubled in size, poke the top of the dough with your fingers a few times to “knock the air out” and dust a working surface with flour. Transfer the dough to your work surface (if you doubled the recipe, chop it in half so you have 2 pieces) and form into a ball, then place a sheet of parchment paper under your dough and stretch the dough until it gets close to the edges of your parchment paper (poke down the center first, then pull from the sides). Pour a little olive oil onto your stretched crust and brush it all over the crust using your fingers. Spoon your crushed tomatoes onto the crust and spread with the back of the spoon.
4. Whisk your egg yolk and water together to create an egg-wash and brush it on the edges of your pizza crust to improve browning. Then add your cheese and the rest of your desired toppings (if using fresh basil, wait to add it until the pizza comes out of the oven). Grabbing the far edges of the parchment paper, transfer the entire pizza along with the parchment paper to the heated pan or pizza stone and bake for 13-15 minutes (if you’re using a pizza stone, err on the side of 13 minutes). 
5. When it comes out of the oven, top the pizza with fresh basil and drizzle with olive oil, if desired. Enjoy!