Homemade Pizza Crust Archives - Kimbesa's Homemade Pizza

Sunday Night Pizza Time

Posted on February 17, 2013September 26, 2013 by kimbesa

Any night is a good night for homemade pizza. Sunday is often an easy time, because you can be relaxed about making the dough, prepping the toppings, and putting it all together to bake.

My homemade pizza crust can easily be made in the morning and put in the fridge to rise. Or if you’re starting after lunch, leave it on the counter.

Always oil the ball of dough lightly, and cover the bowl with a clean towel to prevent it drying out.

If that happens, just punch it down, knead a few times, add a few drops of oil to the surface, and let it rise a bit longer.

You may have to let the dough rest part way through stretching it out on your sheet or baking stone. It will relax in 10 to 15 minutes and let you finish.

And that’s about all the time it takes to preheat your oven to 500 degrees.

You can bake your pizza as soon as the oven is up to temperature. Pizza stones do not have to be preheated along with the oven, but if you do, it makes for a crispier crust.

Then you’ll need to use a peel or perhaps a sheet of parchment to transfer the unbaked pizza to the hot stone. Some cornmeal helps the pizza to slide. Be careful! That pizza stone will be hot!

Get your plates and drinks ready so that you can enjoy a hot, homemade pizza, fresh from your own oven!

Make a Spooktacular Pizza Buffet

Posted on October 29, 2010March 26, 2015 by kimbesa

Feed your hungry goblins and ghouls some healthy pizza when they return from their candy collecting and parties on Halloween.

It’s easy to be ready to serve hot, fresh pizza made at home with a few simple steps in preparation.

Shop for pizza-making supplies. You’ll need some good bread flour and yeast for the homemade pizza crust. Or you can purchase frozen dough in balls at the grocery. Stock up on pizza sauce, cheese and other toppings, too.
Prepare the pizza toppings. Cook sausage, slice onions, fresh mushrooms, peppers or olives. Shred or slice the mozzarella as needed.
Make the dough for the pizza crusts. It will rise slower in the refrigerator, so you can make it several hours ahead of when you’ll need it. Or, freeze your own homemade pizza crust ahead of time. Let the dough return to room temperature before you try and stretch it out.

When the tired kids of all ages return, you’ll be ready to assemble and bake them some nourishing homemade pizza.

A spooktacular [popup_product]pizza buffet[/popup_product] will put a satisfied smile on their faces as they relax after their Halloween haunts.

Homemade Pizza Crust in a Jiffy

Posted on July 1, 2010October 11, 2010 by kimbesa

Making your pizza crust at home from a boxed mix is not exactly what I consider home made. It’s not “from scratch” but not too far off.

Jiffy pizza crust mix I decided to test the Jiffy Pizza Crust boxed mix that is available in many grocery stores.

Jiffy is a Michigan company and they make a variety of these convenience mixes. We always had their cornbread mix at home.

Jiffy Crust Benefits

Convenience. One box makes a crust about 10 by 14 inches, or a number of smaller crusts. You could take this camping if you want pizza, just bring some flour for kneading, along with the sauce and other ingredients you will need
Rises quickly due to a combination of yeast and baking soda
Easy to make. You just need water and some extra flour to briefly knead the dough

The other side

Fluffier texture than I generally like due to the combination of yeast and baking soda. My homemade pizza crust recipe has only yeast as the leavening agent
With only a little more time, I can make a crust from scratch using my own choice of flour

The Jiffy mix calls for prebaking the crust at 425 degrees. In my 30+ years of making pizza at home, I have never prebaked a crust. I consider it unnecessary.

Why bake before topping the pizza? I think the advocates of this method believe that it makes the crust crispier and/or keeps it becoming soggy due to the sauce and other ingredients.

I did not prebake my test crust, added my normal ingredients, and baked the pizza at 500 degrees. It came out fine.

Your pizza crust will be crisp if you use a good quality pizza sauce (no corn syrup or other fillers) that is thick, and bake it a hot, preheated oven.

Tips for a crisp pizza crust

Knead your crust until it has a dull sheen and won’t take in any more flour. It won’t stick easily to your hands, but is not so full of flour that the crust doesn’t hang together as a smooth ball. Better to use less flour at first, then add more a little at a time, vs. adding too much too early.
Use good quality bread flour
Stretch the crust out so that is relatively thin
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees
Assemble the pizza right before baking

I have more of the Jiffy crust mix, and I will use it when I want convenience. I’ll knead it according to the directions, adding my own flour.

Best pizza crust flavor – make it a slow rise

Posted on November 15, 2009October 11, 2010 by kimbesa

One thing leads to another, and so I met Chef Lynn Miller via the Internet. Her new book, Flavor Secrets, has a full spread on pizza.

I’ve been making my own crust for more than 20 years, but there is always something new to learn. I’ve adjusted over the years, and I am currently in favor of a thinner, crispier crust.

I got to ask Chef Lynn about building the flavor of a plain flour crust. I knew that using good quality flour makes a different. And in addition, Chef Lynn says, allow for a long, slow rise.

That makes sense to me. And it’s so easy to make up a crust, cover the bowl and set it aside to rise while doing other tasks. A pizza crust can rise all afternoon, to be enjoyed for a casual supper, or put away in the refrigerator for an even slower rise all day or overnight.

If you make a double batch of pizza dough, one can go into the freezer after it has risen for a half hour or so. Then bring it out to rise a bit more and warm to room temperature, several hours before you plan to use it.

After the sauce, my favorite part of the pizza is the crust. Using local ingredients is important to me as well, because of the quality of local agriculture, and commitment to Michigan as a great place to live.

Resources for local pizza ingredients:

Westwind Milling produces flour locally. Their products are available at the Oakland County Farmers Market. Check website for other locations.

Hampshire Farms is certified organic. Flours and grains available at local farmers markets: Royal Oak, Oakland County and Eastern Market in Detroit.

Plum Market – local means Michigan!

Disclosure: This review is based purchased products. No freebies involved.