Never Buying Pizza Again

 I love pizza. 

Bubbly cheese!

All those carbs!

Endless topping combinations!

Yum!

Making my own pizza crust has been on my culinary "to do" list for some time.

After a wonderful friend gave us an awesome pizza stone as a wedding gift, homemade pizza moved to the top of my list.

The Crust

I wanted to make a semolina crust. Charlie wanted the smoked paprika crust we discovered through the Sorted Food guys .

I combined the two ideas with some help from a King Arthur Flour recipe and what I learned in the bread class to create my own Smoked Paprika Semolina Dough recipe.

My recipe is at the bottom. It looks daunting, but this crust is worth the effort.

Forgot about the oven rise so...

stuffed crust became "cheese caves"

There is a lot of down time. The dough took 6 hours from start to finish but I only spent 45 minutes actively working on it including prepping the other ingredients. It'll be closer to 30 minutes next time.
  





The Toppings 

 Per Charlie's request, I made a Fire Roasted Tomato and Habanero Sauce.

Super simple: 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes, as many garlic cloves as you can handle, and one pickled habanero.

Puree in food processor.

                                                      Simmer on low for an hour or two.

We topped the pizza with Spicy Sausage, Yellow Peppers, Black Olives, and a combination of Mozzarella and Provolone cheeses.

Keep scrolling for the crust recipe.

Note the "cheese caves" :)

Smoked Paprika Semolina Dough

• 1 3/4 cups Bread Flour*
• 1 1/4 cups Semolina
• 1 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
• 1 tsp paprika

*You can use All Purpose Flour, but it has less protein=less gluten formation=less stretchy/chewy dough*

Mixing
 If you have a stand mixer, combine all ingredients in the mixer bowl. Use your dough paddle to mix the ingredients until combined. About 2 min on high. You will need to hold the mixer. Then, switch to the dough hook for about 6-7 minutes. Dough should be soft.

If you are doing it by hand (my preferred method), place all ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands to mix all ingredients until combined. Then, cover mix with a towel/bread bag and let it rest for 30 minutes for the flour to become fully hydrated. After 30 minutes, kneed the dough until it reaches windowpane stage. Prepare for an upper body workout :)

Proofing
Once at windowpane stage, leave to proof in a bowl covered with a towel or bread bag in a warm spot until doubled. My kitchen is chilly right now so this took about 70 minutes for me. If your kitchen is warm, it should only take 30-45 minutes.

After the dough has doubled, form dough in to a ball. Lightly coat a bowl with oil. Roll dough ball in it and let the dough continue to proof in your fridge in a covered container for at least 4 hours but up to 36. This develops the flavor of the dough.

Shaping Dough 
To make your pizza, removed dough from fridge and allow it to return to room temperature. This took me about 60 minutes, but again, my kitchen is very cold.

Now for the fun: stretch by hand or roll your dough out to your preferred shape and thickness. 
Remember that this dough will rise in the oven. 

Then, allow the dough to rest covered with a towel for 30 minutes. This will let the dough relax and produce the proper texture. 

Topping
After 30 minutes, you are ready to top your pizza. Match the amount of toppings to the thickness of your crust. Thin crust will not hold up to 3lbs of toppings. I'd also recommend putting the toppings on the pizza while it is already on the pizza peal or the bottom of a cookie pan lined with lightly floured parchment. This will make it easier to get it in the oven if you are using an oven stone. However, if you are baking it straight in a pan, then you don't need to worry about this step.

Baking 
I preheated my oven to 500 degrees F with the stone on the lowest rack. I let the oven heat for an hour.
Baking time will depend on your crust but here are my recommendations:

Thin Crust: 6-8 minutes
"Hand Tossed": 10-12 minutes
Thick Crust/Pan Pizza: 16-20 minutes


After baking, let pizza rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting.