Bread Machine Pizza
Set your inner Italian free with a homemade pizza. This dough is as easy as the push of a button.
INGREDIENTS | YIELDS 1 1½-POUND LOAF (1 PIZZA CRUST)
- 1 cup water
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- ¼ cup cornmeal
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 8 ounces buffalo mozzarella
- Up to 1½ cups any additional toppings
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
Place water, olive oil, bread flour, honey, kosher salt, and yeast into the bread machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. (Order of ingredients may vary.) Set the machine on dough cycle. Check the dough during the first few minutes of kneading, and adjust as necessary with more water or flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
When dough cycle is complete, transfer dough to a large bowl, cover, and set aside to rest 15 minutes.
Place a ceramic pizza stone or terracotta tiles on the oven rack. Preheat oven to 500°F. Sprinkle the peel surface generously with the cornmeal.
Working on a floured surface, with floured fingers, pat and pull dough out into a large, flat disk as far as it will go. When dough starts to spring back, rest 5 minutes, then continue until it reaches the desired size. Place circle of dough on the cornmeal-lined peel.
Assemble the pizza on a peel or the back of a cookie sheet. Ladle up to 2 cups of tomato sauce onto dough, and spread it to the edges. Do not put too much sauce on, as it will make the crust soggy. Arrange slices of mozzarella and any toppings evenly across the surface of the pizza, all the way out to the edge.
Carry peel to the oven, and slide pizza out onto hot tile. (Hold the peel 2"–3″ directly above the stone, tilt downward, and pull the peel out, leaving the pizza behind.)
Cook 10 minutes, and then rotate pizza so it browns evenly. Cook another 5–10 minutes, until crust is golden brown on the bottom and top.
Grab the pizza with tongs and slide out onto a platter. Top with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh chopped basil.
Pizza Stones
A stone is not a necessity, but it makes the best pizza. A preheated cookie sheet will work, but a better substitute is an outdoor grill. Preheat the grill on high, brush it lightly with olive oil, and cook the dough on one side until golden and marked by the grill (about 5 minutes). Flip dough over, add sauce and toppings, then close the grill cover and cook until bubbly, about 2–5 more minutes.
