Basic Pizza Dough Paula Deen Recipes

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH -PAULA DEEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven at 450 degrees F.
• Measure out 1 3/4 cups warm water (it should be pleasantly warm on your wrist). Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and allow it to activate, about 10 minutes.
• Put the salt and 2 cups of the flour into a food processor. Pulse 5 times to blend. Pour in the yeast and water and pulse 5 times. Add the olive oil. Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, pulsing and scraping the sides of the bowl until well blended. As soon as the mixture is combined, dump it out onto a well-floured board and knead for 15 turns, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, until doubled in size, then punch it down. Divide it in half; each half will make 1 (12-inch) pizza.
• Place on a cornmeal-dusted pizza stone, pizza pan, or cookie sheet. Roll up edge slightly to create a ridge around the pizza. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until crust is light brown.
• Cook's Note: If using only half dough, freeze the other half. Place the dough in a resealable freezer bag. To thaw, remove the bag from the freezer and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Roll the dough out while cold then allow it to come to room temperature before adding toppings.

PAULA DEEN'S MEXICAN PIZZA

Steps:

• Position the oven rack at the lowest level. If you have a pizza stone, place it in the oven on the rack. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Heat the oil in a small saucepan and cook the green pepper and mushrooms over medium heat until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Cut the crusts into biscuit sized pieces using a biscuit cutter. Distribute the vegetables evenly over the crusts. Reserve 1 cup of the salsa and spoon the remaining salsa evenly over the pizzas. If you don't have a pizza stone, place the pizzas on a baking sheet. They won't be as crisp this way, but this is a lot less messy than placing them directly on the rack.
• Bake the pizzas for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, then sprinkle with the cheese. Bake 7 minutes more. Serve the pizza slices topped with the reserved salsa, olives, cooked ham, shredded lettuce and sour cream.
• Note: For variety, you can make a Greek style pizza, using olives, tapenade, spinach and feta cheese. An Italian style pizza uses tomato sauce and provolone cheese. A vegetarian style pizza simply omits the meat.

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Make the dough: Add 1/2 cup of the water to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit until bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the oil. Slowly add the flour and mix until the dough is elastic, about 6 minutes. Add the salt and mix until the dough forms a loose ball and completely separates from the sides of the bowl, 4 to 5 minutes more. If the dough feels too dry, add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is moist and springy.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, folding the dough over itself. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it with plastic and let sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
• Once proofed, punch down the dough on a floured surface so it releases air before kneading it and forming it into three 6-ounce portions. You want to roll the dough and shape it into smooth balls.
• Place each of the 3 dough balls on a plate or baking sheet. Cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature until soft, about 2 hours. The dough will naturally start to puff up and proof again for the last time. (At this point, you can also wrap the dough balls in plastic and freeze them for a future use.)
• (Alternatively, you can put the plates in the refrigerator for 36 hours and up to 2 days. This is called a "cold ferment" and will add great depth of flavor in your dough, as that yeast has plenty of time to do its "gassy" thing! Remove the dough from fridge and let it sit out at least 2 hours to bring back to room temperature before using.)
• Shape, top and enjoy!

THE BEST PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar; add yeast and whisk until dissolved. Let stand until bubbles form on surface. In a large bowl, whisk 3 cups flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and, if desired, dried herbs. Make a well in center; add yeast mixture and oil. Stir until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead, adding more flour to surface as needed until no longer sticky and dough is smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a large greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes; transfer bowl to refrigerator and chill overnight. Allow dough to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before rolling.

FRESH FRUIT PIZZA (PAULA DEEN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Roll out cookie dough large enough to cover a round pizza pan. Bake 8 to 15 minutes or until firm. Cool completely.
• Mix together cream cheese and your choice of extract. Spread cream cheese mixture over cooled cookie dough crust.
• Arrange fruit in circles around center.
• Warm marmalade slightly in the microwave and brush over fruit.
• Serve immediately.

WINE & HONEY PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water and wine.
• Let sit for approximately five minutes, until yeast bubbles.
• Dissolve the salt in the 2 tablespoons of water.
• Stir honey and oil into yeast mixture.
• Stir in one cup of flour and mix with a wooden spoon until it forms a thin batter.
• Stir in the salt and water mixture.
• Add 2 cups of flour and stir until you can no longer mix in any more flour with the spoon.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and shiny.
• It may be a bit sticky, that's fine.
• Spray a bowl with oil and place the dough in the bowl.
• Spray the top of the dough with oil and cover with plastic wrap.
• Allow the dough to rise for 45 minutes (or until doubled in volume) in a warm area.
• ***The more times you let the dough rise, the better it will be.
• If you can, punch it down after the first rising and let it rise again.
• Divide the dough into 4 pieces for individual pizzas, 2 pieces for small pizzas or leave as 1 piece for 1 large pizza.
• Roll the dough out into rounds and let rest for 15 minutes.