Juniper Hills Farm Pizza Dough

This is what I am made this weekend! Home Made Pizza–it just doesn’t get any better than this! We are fortunate to have a wood burning oven here and that makes this pizza go from wonderful to amazing. But when I don’t have the time or energy to start the fire, I often cook pizzas in my oven on a pizza stone or, even better, grill them. This is so incredibly easy, if you haven’t done this, please try it! Pizza is only limited by your imagination. My theory is less is better. Don’t try to put everything on one pizza, the more you load it up the less you will like your results. Keep it simple and enjoy each individual taste and ingredient. Grilled onions, prosciutto ribbons, arugula, sausage, pesto, cherry tomatoes and garlic olive oil….these are some of my toppings. It’s a great way to use up leftovers too, crumbled up meatloaf, shredded chicken, left over pork tenderloin, a dab of tomato sauce or BBQ Sauce–clean out your fridge!

Oh and by the way, these little balls of pizza dough freeze really well to. Just wrap them in plastic right after you do the dividing of the dough balls. Take them out the morning you want to use them and put them in your fridge. By the evening they will be almost ready to use…a few minutes on your counter top and they will be ready to stretch. Or leave them out, lightly covered and they will be ready in a few hours.

Makes 6-8 medium sized pizzas or 10-12 personal pizzas

4 cups flour (bread flour or all purpose)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups warm water, about 90º-100°

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons active dry yeast, hydrated in 1/4 cup warm water (allow this to sit for 2 or 3 minutes)

Measure flour and salt into mixing bowl. In a glass measuring cup, mix 1 1/2 cup warm water, olive oil, honey and hydrated yeast. Let sit for a couple of minutes. Add to flour and stir (I like a rubber spatula) until dough takes on a shaggy appearance.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic-about 5 minutes, sprinkling in a little flour as needed.

Place in a large lightly oiled container. Cover with plastic or cloth and leave in a warm location-about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, divide into 6-8 portions and roll gently into balls. I like to “mushroom” them, turning the bottom of the ball into the center, forming a nice, rounded top. It doesn’t matter what the bottom of the ball looks like. Place the balls into a proofing box with a lid or on a oiled sheet pan. Cover lightly with plastic wrap. Allow dough ball to rest for about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450-475º. If you have a pizza stone, put it in to preheat.

When ready to make pizzas, flatten ball with fingers to an even thickness and then stretch edges with fingers at 12 and 3 o’clock, gently stretching to desired thickness. Top and bake until lightly browned and bubbly.

Alternately, to grill pizzas, preheat grill to high. Scrub grate clean when hot and lightly swab with an oil coated rag. Once pizza doughs are pulled into shape grill untopped pizza on one side for 2-3 minutes or until nicely browned and slightly puffy. Remove from grill and place toppings on browned side. Return to grill and cook for another 2-3 minutes or to desired doneness.