On Tuesday night, my apartment turned into it's very own pizzeria! Aaron has been in the cooking mood lately, which I always encourage, because it always means I get to eat dinner with him and enjoy his yummy creations! Tonight's menu was homemade pizza, something neither of us has ever made! Here's how it went down... an amateur tutorial, if you will!
The recipe makes about 1 3/4 of pizza dough!
* 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
* I teaspoon of sugar
* 1 1/2 cups of warm water.
* 3 1/3 cups of whole wheat flour (We couldn't find any, so we used regular)
* 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
* 4 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil.
STEP 1:
Use a 2 cup liquid measuring cup and dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let it sit there until it gets foamy... about 3-5 minutes.
The recipe makes about 1 3/4 of pizza dough!
* 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
* I teaspoon of sugar
* 1 1/2 cups of warm water.
* 3 1/3 cups of whole wheat flour (We couldn't find any, so we used regular)
* 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
* 4 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil.
STEP 1:
Use a 2 cup liquid measuring cup and dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let it sit there until it gets foamy... about 3-5 minutes.
STEP 2:
Then, insert a dough blade (I didn't have one of those: It's okay) in a big bowl, and add the flour, salt and 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Then, pour the liquid mixture , (I poured while Aaron mixed slowly... resourcefulness people, resourcefulness!) as fast as the flour will absorb it. 
STEP 3:
Keep mixing the flour mixture until it forms a ball. Then, knead the dough, adding flour if you need to so it doesn't stick to your fingers!
STEP 4:
Grab a medium size ziplock bag and pour the olive oil in it. Then, throw the dough inside and zip it shut. The recipe said to put it in a "warm place", so we set it next to my floor heater and flipped the switch! Worked like a charm. Let it sit for 45 minutes and watch the magic happen as it doubles in size!
STEP 5:
Let me rewind a second. While the dough is rising, get out that cutting board and chop all the toppings you want! We went with a veggie theme: some cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and kale! YUMMY!
STEP 6:
This is also a great time to cut the cheese! LOL This was my big job of the night!
(We chose FRESH MOZZARELLA, by the way!)
The rest of the time I kinda just sat around with my glass of delicious sparkling Moscato, and watched my hunk of a man do his thing in the kitchen! :)
STEP 7:
Take the dough out of the ziplock bag and spread it onto a lightly oiled (olive oil) pizza pan. We found one at Home Plus for $9.00 in Korea! Once the dough's on the pan, punch down and spread it out until it's almost touching the edges of the pan. (This amount of dough makes a yummy thick crust! If you want thin crust, use 1/2.)
*** And yes, sometimes we prepare food on the floor- the joys of having small counters!
STEP 8:
Top it with pizza sauce. You can make your own, of course, but Aaron just bought some instead! We're not THAT GOOD, yet!
STEP 9:
Now's the fun part! Get your artistic hands ready and decorate your pizza to your hearts content! The possibilities are endless... unless you live in Korea and can't buy simple things like PEPPERONI -- FAIL!
STEP 10:
Throw it in the 450 degree preheated oven.
I'd recommend only turning on the bottom burner,
so the toppings don't get burnt while the dough is cookin'!
... and if you're like Aaron, stand and watch over it the entire 17 - 19 minutes and ooh and ahh at how delicious it looks and smells! (and if you're like me, ALSO ooh and aah, because the more you do it, the more your man will want to be in the kitchen while you sit back and relax with your glass of wine!***)
STEP 11:
Take it out, smile for the camera, and be proud of yourself for baking such a delicious creation... from SCRATCH!
STEP 12:
Serve it up and indulge! :)
STEP 3:
Keep mixing the flour mixture until it forms a ball. Then, knead the dough, adding flour if you need to so it doesn't stick to your fingers!
STEP 4:
Grab a medium size ziplock bag and pour the olive oil in it. Then, throw the dough inside and zip it shut. The recipe said to put it in a "warm place", so we set it next to my floor heater and flipped the switch! Worked like a charm. Let it sit for 45 minutes and watch the magic happen as it doubles in size!
STEP 5:
Let me rewind a second. While the dough is rising, get out that cutting board and chop all the toppings you want! We went with a veggie theme: some cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and kale! YUMMY!
STEP 6:
This is also a great time to cut the cheese! LOL This was my big job of the night!
(We chose FRESH MOZZARELLA, by the way!)
The rest of the time I kinda just sat around with my glass of delicious sparkling Moscato, and watched my hunk of a man do his thing in the kitchen! :)
STEP 7:
Take the dough out of the ziplock bag and spread it onto a lightly oiled (olive oil) pizza pan. We found one at Home Plus for $9.00 in Korea! Once the dough's on the pan, punch down and spread it out until it's almost touching the edges of the pan. (This amount of dough makes a yummy thick crust! If you want thin crust, use 1/2.)
*** And yes, sometimes we prepare food on the floor- the joys of having small counters!
STEP 8:
Top it with pizza sauce. You can make your own, of course, but Aaron just bought some instead! We're not THAT GOOD, yet!
STEP 9:
Now's the fun part! Get your artistic hands ready and decorate your pizza to your hearts content! The possibilities are endless... unless you live in Korea and can't buy simple things like PEPPERONI -- FAIL!
STEP 10:
Throw it in the 450 degree preheated oven.
I'd recommend only turning on the bottom burner,
so the toppings don't get burnt while the dough is cookin'!
... and if you're like Aaron, stand and watch over it the entire 17 - 19 minutes and ooh and ahh at how delicious it looks and smells! (and if you're like me, ALSO ooh and aah, because the more you do it, the more your man will want to be in the kitchen while you sit back and relax with your glass of wine!***)
STEP 11:
Take it out, smile for the camera, and be proud of yourself for baking such a delicious creation... from SCRATCH!
STEP 12:
Serve it up and indulge! :)
