Easy Pizza Dough Three Ways

Clockwise from the top:
White pizza dough with oregano and thyme,
plain white pizza dough and whole wheat dough.

For years, we've been making the same pizza dough - the recipe came with my bread maker. It's definitely better than store bought versions and is easy to prepare as you just throw everything into the pot and press a button. But a few months ago, I  tried Mark Bittman's food processor pizza dough and fell in love with pizza all over again. 

Not only is his version just as easy as my old recipe, it tastes a million times better! Yes, you have to let it rise for awhile but you can make it ahead of time and let it rise in the fridge if you don't want to stick around and watch it. Usually I make multiple batches and freeze a couple for future use.

To Mark's recipe, I often add my own herbs to the dough for added flavour and/or add whole wheat flour for a slightly healthier version. The whole wheat version is a bit denser but still amazing. Try these and let me know what you think! Check out his original article here.

Pizza Dough Three Ways

Adapted from “How to Cook Everything: The Basics”

Makes two pizzas.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose (more for kneading)
2 teaspoon fast-rising yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 c warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil

What to do

1. Place flour, yeast, salt in your food processor and pulse three times to mix.
2. With food processor set on low-medium speed, slowly add water and oil through the feed tube.
3. Mix until the dough comes together to form a ball. (You can add a little more water if it is too dry or a tsp or two of flour if too wet).
4. Remove dough knead a couple of times on a lightly floured surface.
5. Spray dough with a little cooking spray and place in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm area of your kitchen for 1-2 hours - until dough has doubled in size. 
6. If desired you can through it in the fridge for up to 8 hours instead of in a warm spot for 2.
7. Or freeze dough for up to 2 weeks. (Bring to room temp before proceeding.)
8. Punch dough down and divide in two.
9. Roll half of dough on a floured surface - roll as thin as you can (within reason - you don't want to have all your ingredients falling through!
10. Add your topping - sauce, cheese, herbs, veggies etc
11. Repeat with other half of dough.
12. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about  15 minutes. The under side of your crust should be golden and cheese bubbling.

Tips: Throw a tbsp of cornmeal on your baking sheet to prevent sticking.

Variation #1

Herb crust:
Add 1-tsp of your favorite herbs to the flour, salt and yeast step. Proceed as directed.

Variation #2

Whole wheat version:
Use only 2-1/2 c all purpose flour and add another 1/2 c of whole wheat flour. Proceed as directed.