It seems like it has been ages since I have had time to post any recipes I have tried. Now that the kitchen is back to being a kitchen again (and it looks great by the way), and some other family stuff is behind us, I can try to get back to posting on a regular basis. I thought I would try to ease back into everything with a simple recipe that I put together for dinner on Friday night. This one is from King Arthur Flour, which is my favorite source for all things baking. I buy a lot of their items for the different breads I make, but they also make an excellent pizza blend flour that makes a wonderful crust for pizza. This recipe makes a simple, no-knead pizza dough that you can turn out pretty quickly and dress up with your favorite toppings to make a great meal anytime. The recipe was published in their last catalog, and I thought it would be a great one to try out.

No-Knead Deep-Dish Pepperoni Pizza

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 1/4 cups Pizza Flour Blend

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in puree

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

4 ounces sliced pepperoni

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Grease or oil with olive oil a 9″ x 13″ pan. To make the crust, Stir the water, olive oil, pizza flour blend, salt, and yeast together in a large bowl to form a slightly sticky, soft dough. Let the dough rise, covered for 30 minutes.

Place the dough in the oiled pan and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Pat and stretch the dough to cover the bottom of the pan. Let the dough rest in the pan, covered with a towel, for another 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Cover the crushed pizza crust dough with the crushed tomatoes. Top the tomatoes with the mozzarella, then the pepperoni, and finally the Parmesan cheese. Place the pizza in the oven and bake the pizza for about 25 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown.

Remove the pizza from the oven and carefully lift it out of the pan and onto a cooling rack (if you have a large spatula, it is a big help here). Allow the pizza to cool for about 15 minutes before cutting it and serving it.

The pizza crust recipe itself is the same recipe you will find listed on the back of the pizza flour blend bag from King Arthur. I typically make the dough in my bread maker, allowing it to do the kneading and rising over the course of two hours. This method cuts that in half and produces a nice crust perfect for use in a deep dish pan or rectangular pan. I added some spice to the tomatoes, mixing in some Italian seasoning for extra flavor, and you could easily add some basil, oregano or another spice blend that you might like on your pizza for added flavor. The crust comes out nicely, and you get a good size pizza out of it that has nice flavor and crunch to it. It is certainly one I will try again since we make pizza here about once a month.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. I do plan to do a post about the kitchen and some of the new gadgets I have to play with, so keep an eye out for that. Until next time, enjoy the rest of yuor day and enjoy your meal!