Homemade pizza (YES, including the dough) is super simple and tastes SO much better than anything you can buy! Plus I love that I know exactly what’s in it. I had been using a whole wheat pizza dough recipe from The Daniel Plan Cookbook that was delish, but decided to switch it up recently when my best friend, who is a Registered Dietitian, used a pizza dough recipe that had WHITE FLOUR and was divine. Mind blown. If my bestie, who spent years of schooling to learn about food, is making pizza dough with white flour… I can to! Lesson: white flour or whole wheat flour, neither should be a “bad food.”
A side note about me, pizza, and my gut. At the end of January I had convinced myself (and my doctor) that I was lactose intolerant. To test the hypothesis my doctor encouraged me to completely omit dairy from my diet for 6 weeks. This was also right when I began understanding more about intuitive eating and immersing myself in understanding the idea of diet culture. I had heard a few experts (Registered Dietitians) on various podcasts mention that the food restrictions we place on ourselves and the morality we place on food (I’m a bad person because I ate a bad food) can actually disrupt our gut and digestion and create a misdiagnosis of food intolerances. I began wondering if this is what happened to me. So I tried dairy again and I have been fine. When I eat mindfully and relax my body while I eat dairy foods like cheese and ice cream, I have not been experiencing the discomfort I had been experiencing previously. I literally made my body think it was lactose intolerant, when it was really just the stress I was putting my body through by shaming and guilting and berating myself every time I ate a “bad food” that had dairy. It’s time to move past that. So today I’m making pizza again. And eating it mindfully. Relaxed. Free of shame. Free of guilt. Listening to my body.
My bestie passed along this Bobby Flay Pizza Dough recipe from Food Network. It yields 2 pizzas, so I just halved it. The only adjustment my RD best friend suggested was using half the amount of salt so tonight I used ½ a tsp total in my recipe.
Cue Pandora Italian Cooking music channel!! Voooolare! (Dean Martin anyone?!)
Prepare the pizza dough according to Bobby Flay Pizza Dough.
I used our Kitchen Aid with a dough hook.
Until it looked like this...
Then cover the dough with saran wrap for about an hour (it should double in size).
While the dough rises, prep your toppings. My husband cooked sausage, but I just wanted veggies on my side. I sauteed mushrooms and zucchini tonight because we had them on hand, but peppers would also be delicious! Chop a handful of mushrooms and add to hot pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms become tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and place in a bowl.
Add zucchini to the hot pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes. Just until zucchini is heated. Remove and place in a paper towel lined bowl. The paper towel will help soak up the extra water that the zucchini releases - otherwise it’ll end up making your pizza soupy.
The dough looks ready to go (but really I’m just eager to get to the finished product)!
Sprinkle a large cutting board with flour. Push out dough until it has the shape you want and thickness you desire.
I don’t know how to toss dough in the air… yet ;)
Sprinkle a small spoonful of corn meal on your pizza stone or cookie sheet to prevent sticking without giving that overly floury taste (my husband’s idea).
Transfer rolled out/shaped pizza dough to pizza stone or cookie sheet. Spray with EVOO, sprinkle garlic powder over the dough. Bake for 10 minutes. This gives the dough a bit of a head start which I've learned is useful when making pizza from scratch.
Remove dough from oven and top with toppings.
We use marinara sauce to get started.
Mozzarella cheese.
Topping time! My side with zucchini and mushrooms, my husband’s with sausage.
Return to oven for 10-15 minutes until cheese just begins to brown and crust is at desired crispness.
Halfway through we realized we had ricotta, so we plopped some on top!
Ta-freakin-da!
SO much better than anything you can buy! I paired the pizza with a spinach salad with homemade balsamic dressing.
Dinner is served! Enjoy!
Ingredients
Mushrooms
Zucchini
Red onion
Other ideas: peppers (we just didn’t have any)
Extra flour (1-2 spoonfulls)
Corn meal (about 1 spoonful)
Marinara
Mozzarella cheese
Ricotta cheese
Directions
Prepare the pizza dough according to Bobby Flay Pizza Dough. While dough is rising, prepare the toppings.
Spray a non-stick skillet with EVOO or Coconut Oil. Chop a handful of mushrooms and add to hot pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms become tender, about 5 minutes. Remove and place in a bowl. Add zucchini to the hot pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes. Just until zucchini is heated. Remove and place in a paper towel lined bowl.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. When dough is done rising, sprinkle a large cutting board with flour. Push out dough until it has the shape you want and thickness you desire. Sprinkle a small spoonful of corn meal on your pizza stone or cookie sheet to prevent sticking without giving that overly floury taste. Transfer rolled out/shaped pizza dough to pizza stone or cookie sheet. Spray with EVOO, sprinkle garlic powder over the dough. Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove dough from oven and top with toppings.
Return to oven for 10-15 minutes until cheese just begins to brown and crust is at desired crispness.
Slice and enjoy. Without guilt. Without shame
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