Fast and Easy Pizza Dough and Sauce

Thursday Bram — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:39:48 +0000

Pizza delivery for just two people can quickly top $30, depending on where you live, not to mention the hour that you usually have to wait for that delivery. Buying frozen pizzas at the supermarket can halve the price and lessen the time commitment. Making your pizza from scratch, though, can make for a cheap meal with only a marginally higher time committment. The sauce to go with it isn't much better, costing dollars for the same amount of tomato product that you can get for cents. Here are some fairly quick recipes that can save you bucks at the checkout line without putting an end to hot pizza!

Pizza Dough (15 minutes for prep)

The foundation for my recipe came out of Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, which has saved my bacon on numerous occasions. However, I've made some changes, just to make it a little faster and easier. This recipe works well on the East Coast — I can't make any promises for higher altitudes.

Pizza Dough (15 minutes for prep)

1 teaspoon rapid-rise yeast (if you use the kind that comes in packets, you need about 1/2 of a packet per batch of dough)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Your favorite pizza spices — I use about a teaspoon each of garlic, dried onion, basil and ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus an extra teaspoon
3 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra as needed)

In my largest mixing bowl, I combine the yeast, salt, and spices. I add the water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and give it a quick stir. I add the flour a cup at a time. After the second cup, I usually can't stir in any more flour and have to switch to kneading it in. I knead until the dough is smooth. If the dough is too sticky I add flour in slowly until it smooths out. I pour the remaining olive oil into the bottom of the bowl and roll the dough around until the oil coats the outside of the dough. I cover with a damp cloth and stick the whole bowl out of the way to rise. It should double in about 2 hours.

For pizza, I preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. I form balls out of the dough and roll them flat on a floured surface. I place the pizzas on a lightly greased baking shet and pop in the oven for about 15 minutes. The cooking time entirely depends on the thickness of your crust and how many toppings you pile on — thin crust pizzas can take as little as 8 minutes.

For calzone, I preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Set up is essentially the same up to the point when I start adding toppings. Toppings go into the middle of the dough and the dough gets folded over them. I then pinch the edges shut. If they aren't staying closed, trying running your finger over the edge with a little water, then pinching. I then bake them for about 30 minutes.

A couple of notes:

This recipe scales very well, but I tend to have to add about an extra 1/4 cup of water to get all of the flour mixed in.
For both pizza toppings and calzone fillings, I either buy some sort of pre-cooked meat (turkey bacon or sausages) or cook it ahead of time (like grilled chicken). With pizza especially, meat just doesn't have a chance to cook properly.

Tomato Sauce (15 minutes)

3 tablespoons oil or butter
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 can (28 ounces) chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
Any spices you wish

I place the oil, garlic and onion in a skillet on medium heat. I let them cook until the onion is translucent and then add the tomatoes, along with the salt, pepper and other seasonnings. I raise the heat to medium-high. Aside from stirring occasionally, I ignore it for around ten minutes, or until the mixture starts looking like sauce. If it seems to have too little liquid, I add a little more oil, leftover wine or a little water. Of course, there are plenty of other pizza sauce ideas if you're not such a fan of tomatoes.

A few more notes:

For picky eaters, I recommend letting the sauce cool down a bit and then running it through a blender. If you're tryng to sneak in a few more vegetables into someone's diet, add them during the cooking process and blend very thoroughly. They can be practically unnoticeable.
I used canned tomatoes because I can buy them in big lots, whenever they go on sale. Fresh tomatoes are definently an option, but I've found I often need to add more liquid during the cooking process.
I often add odds and ends to my sauce: that last little bit of an onion or scallion, dried spices, whatever I have on hand and want to use up. The above recipe is only a starting point!

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