Perfect Pizza Dough

We've been using this recipe for so long that I forgot where it originally came from. It is by far my favorite pizza dough recipe and I've tried a lot!!! Plus, it is super simple!
Every Sunday night we have family pizza movie night, where I make the dough and roll it out for each family member to have their own personal pizza. Each of us top our pizza with whatever we want and we joke that if you don't like it, it is your own fault (since you made it). Fortunately, we all love it so much it has become a tradition in our house that the kids have become quite attached to! One Sunday we were going to go out to dinner with my grandparents and both kids had meltdowns because they said that we could NOT miss family pizza movie night! Oh, so after the pizzas cook, we lay a plastic table cloth on the floor and eat picnic style while watching a family movie together! It is a lot of fun!

Ingredients:
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp italian seasoning (crushed in hand)
2 1/2 - 3 C flour (King Arthur is my absolute fav... I use 1 c whole wheat and 2 c unbleached white)
2 T EVOO
1 .25oz pkt yeast or 2 1/4 t jarred bread yeast
1 T sugar
1 C warm water (110 degrees)

For a softer crust:
Mix all ingredients in Kitchenaid or by hand (making sure to knead throughly).

For a crisper crust:
Mix water, sugar and yeast in a separate bowl and allow to proof (get foamy). This should take less than 5 minutes.

Once ingredients are fully combined and formed into a smooth doughball, place in a lightly greased bowl, lightly covered. Let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Use a rolling pin to roll dough into pizza shape.
Makes 2 large or 4 small crusts.
Top with your choice of toppings.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 8 minutes, or until done to your liking (depends on how crispy you like your crust)
We find our best success preheating the oven with the pizza stone inside.
Have fun and ENJOY!!

French Bread Roll

My friend Alecia gave me this recipe and it was a HUGE hit tonight!!! All members of the family devoured it...including my 2 1/2 and 5 year olds!!! That makes it a huge winner in my book!
I hope it will be a winner with your family too!

Ingredients:
1 tube of french bread loaf (Pillsbury)
lunch meat (I used turkey and ham)
cheese (I used swiss and chipotle cheddar)
other options - bacon, salami, pepperoni, the possibilities are endless...etc etc

Directions:
Open tube of bread dough. Either unroll (mine was easy to unroll) or smush into a large rectangle.
Layer meat and cheese, then roll. Put the seam down on a cookie sheet (it is nice too cook it on parchment paper as the roll will not stick at all) and press together the ends of the roll to seal everything inside. Finally make a few slits in the top of the roll. It is NOT advised to put sauce inside the roll as it will most likely seep out or make the dough inside a bit soggy. Instead serve sauce on the side for dipping...mustard, ranch dressing, italian dressing etc.

*NOTE*you could make this into a pizza roll by using a tube of pizza dough (or your own homemade) and filling it with pepperoni and mozzarella. Then, serve with pizza sauce for dipping.
Bake 350 degrees 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Family Pizza!

There are many many variations of this idea, but if you have a Publix grocery store here is one way to go...They have a little refrigerator near the bakery that they keep fresh pizza dough. All you have to do is let it sit out an hour or two before making your pizza and you can get the whole family involved!

You can use whatever toppings you like.
What we used last night was:
1 ball of Publix fresh pizza dough
1 jar pre-made pizza sauce
1 12 oz bag of shredded Italian cheeses
1 link of mild Italian sausage (I took off the casing and fried it up)
a few fresh basil leaves
1 T olive oil to brush on the crust before baking

Roll out the dough, brush the edges with oil and have fun topping it!
Bake at 425 for 12-17 minutes.
You could even spilt the dough and make mini pizzas for each member of the family.
Have fun with it!