More Pizza!

So who doesn't like pizza! When I was a kid I remember my mom making pizza in a Pyrex pie plate using Bisquick for the crust, and probably hamburger, tomato sauce and shredded cheese. I thought it was the best thing I'd ever eaten! Well, next to Gertha's fried chicken and sauteed trout (my standard order at restaurants). Since way back then, though, I've sometimes seen that Bisquick pizza recipe online and even printed it, but I'm not sure I'll make it--might just upset my memory of it being the "perfect" pizza! 

I have tried a lot of other recipes for dough, however, and here's a white pizza I made using Paula Deen's dough recipe:

It was luscious! The crust was chewy and had a good flavor. To make the topping I used olive oil with lots of minced fresh garlic, ricotta cheese, Parmesan, mozzarella, fresh cracked black pepper, and fresh basil. This is one of my family's favorites! The first time we ate one was in Bethel, Connecticut where we lived for a few years. We would go to this small pizza store/cafe and watch them as the cooks would work their magic right in front of us in the big wood-burning pizza oven. The smells were divine. We'd take our pizza along with some sort of flavored bubble soda and head to the park where we'd play and eat. Good days.

Paula Deen's dough recipe:
5 C. all-purpose flour
2 pkgs active dry yeast (I used pizza crust yeast)
2 T. sugar
2 T. olive oil, divided
2 t. salt
2 C. warm water
In a standing mixer with a hook attachment, place the warm water, yeast and sugar and 1 T. olive oil. Allow to sit until yeast begins to foam. Add flour and salt and mix the dough until it is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl. Drizzle half of the remaining olive oil over the top of the dough. Turn the dough over in the bowl, cover and allow it to rise to approximately twice its size--about an hour. Punch the dough down and pour out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead again. Place it back in a bowl and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Turn over, cover and allow to rise a second time. After it has risen, punch it down again. It is now ready to roll out for your pizzas! Makes 2 16" pizzas

My friend, Gail Collins, at Pampered Chef, will be happy to help you find all the pizza equipment you need to make delicious pizzas! She offers pizza stones, pans, pizza cutters, etc. Just click on the Pampered Chef button at the top of my blog and you will see her smiling face! :)