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Easy Steps to the Perfect Pizza From Scratch

Posted Wed, May 07, 2008, 8:11 am PDT
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Making pizza is a great way for a family or circle of friends to get together and create a meal. This pizza is hard not to love: a crispy crust topped with slices of good prosciutto, spinach, olives, and one of my favorite cheeses, Manchego from Spain. I add the prosciutto after baking because the ham can become saltier when it is heated. To make it from scratch start at Step 1 the night before. Or save time with ready-made dough and begin at Step 4.


EASY PIZZA DOUGH
Make the day before. Makes 4 Pizza Shells

1 cup warm water, 95 to 115 degrees
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons honey
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (I prefer Lucini brand.)
3 ½ cups all-purpose or multigrain flour
Pinch of kosher salt

Step 1: In a food processor, combine the warm water, yeast, honey, and olive oil and mix well. Process until the yeast dissolves and the mixture is bubbly. Add the flour and pulse. Add a pinch of salt and pulse again. Run the food processor until the dough makes a ball.

Step 2: Remove and place on a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes.

Step 3: Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover well, and refrigerate overnight.

PIZZA WITH PROSCIUTTO AND OLIVES
Makes 1 (8- or 9-inch) pizza

1 Easy Pizza Dough recipe (see above) or 1 ready-made pizza dough
2 tablespoons pitted and sliced black or green olives
¼ cup shredded manchego cheese
¼ cup fresh spinach
12 slices prosciutto
Olive oil for drizzling (I prefer Lucini brand.)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste


Step 4: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a pizza stone in the oven.

Step 5: Remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator. Divide the it into fourths. Roll out one of the pieces to 8 or 9 inches in diameter. (Or use ready-made dough.) Place the dough on a lightly floured pizza peel or baking sheet with no sides.

Step 6: Top the dough with the olives and manchego cheese. Bake on the hot stone for 20 to 25 minutes, checking periodically. When the dough has a nice crust, remove it from the oven and place the spinach on top.

Step 7: Top with the prosciutto, then drizzle with oil, and season with pepper. Cut into four pieces and serve immediately.

Note: Tightly wrap the remaining three pieces of pizza dough in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator or freezer for future use.

 

  • 1. Posted by MetaL* on Fri, May 09, 2008, 12:56 pm PDT

    kthxbai

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  • 2. Posted by ohithinktheylikme17 on Fri, May 09, 2008, 2:32 pm PDT

    YO THIS IS SOO YUM

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  • 3. Posted by SebForm on Fri, May 09, 2008, 9:20 pm PDT

    Instead of honey, I use brown sugar. It dissolves much better and gives the final product a much better taste. Instead of using a food processor, I'd rather use my own hands. Incorporating a food processor seems too much on the lazy Martha Stewart sterile kitchen side.

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  • 4. Posted by wt2012 on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:03 pm PDT

    vbbbsafdsfhksdlfhjdsklfjslfkshjgdhgdhgjshfshfhauhdiuahduahuhsfuhsfhsjlfhjsdfsdfsfsfsfsdfsfsdfdsfs

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  • 5. Posted by No on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:07 pm PDT

    what do you guys think step 3 is?

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  • 6. Posted by PDC on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:08 pm PDT

    Cut into four pices and serve immediately. Spell check?

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  • 7. Posted by PDC on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:08 pm PDT

    Cut into four pices and serve immediately. Spell check?

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  • 8. Posted by talktokrish12 on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:08 pm PDT

    who puts honey in pizza???

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  • 9. Posted by Mike on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:09 pm PDT

    What kind of pizza is this? I guess anybody who is not from New York or Chicago would consider this a "perfect pizza" since they don't know any better. A good pizza comes down to the sauce that goes on it, not the toppings. That's why any good cheese pizza from the two places I mentioned would blow this out of the water.

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  • 10. Posted by wereowl on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:09 pm PDT

    It has been establlished that the last supper was beer and pizza. This was the pizza that passeth understanding!

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  • 11. Posted by leowyatt410 on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:11 pm PDT

    my girlfriend makes the best homemade pizza

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  • 12. Posted by kstill93 on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:11 pm PDT

    This recipe sounds good, but I don't have a food processor.

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  • 13. Posted by Gill on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:11 pm PDT

    sounds horrible, like a really good way to screw up a great dish. 1/4c of cheese, you call this a pizza?

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  • 14. Posted by kmfarmson on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:12 pm PDT

    Is there a Step 3?

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  • 15. Posted by cscscs1927 on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:13 pm PDT

    I thought this was supposed to be about pizza, not women seeking some rich man! The pizza recipe sounds good, but the other comments have no place here.

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  • 16. Posted by Susan White-Bowden on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:14 pm PDT

    I'm going to try this. I have always wanted to make a GOOD pizza from scratch. It sounds like it has all the right stuff for one.

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  • 17. Posted by another i on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:14 pm PDT

    pizza made at home is not economical to do and will cost you time/labor/resources/material 3 to 4 times what you can just make a phone call to get already done and piping hot in a box without messing up your kitchen to do it running up your gas/electric bill and don't forget water to wash up the stuff you used to make this "SUPER~PIE". think about it and find yourself another hobby that doesn't break the bank to do.

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  • 18. Posted by leowyatt410 on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:15 pm PDT

    stop posting spam

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  • 19. Posted by meggiepoo12395 on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:16 pm PDT

    freaks i hate olives on my pizza it tastes like crap to me

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  • 20. Posted by mr.blu02 on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:17 pm PDT

    Frick

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  • 21. Posted by wc_garrettjr on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:18 pm PDT

    o cool NOT!!!

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  • 22. Posted by Carla S on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:18 pm PDT

    the best pizzas are simple, based on fresh ingredients so the flavors shine. you don't need alot of sauce or alot of cheese if what you have is flavorful and of good quality.

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  • 23. Posted by timc_33 on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:20 pm PDT

    Step 3. Dance around the kitchen like a mad man LOL :)

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  • 24. Posted by mzpinkness on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:20 pm PDT

    wtf is manchego cheese??? well this pizza sounds nasty as hell anyway ugh!!!!!

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  • 25. Posted by btownflicks on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:21 pm PDT

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Unless you have the pleasure of living within an hour radius of NYC, you have no idea what good "za" (pizza) is. I'm sure others are going to say I'm full of it, but I promise you I'm not. Sure there are some oasis out there, like Bronx pizza in San Diego (lived there for 2 years), but it just reminds me how nobody outside of the area where I grew-up and where I live now know what pizza is supposed to taste like. I'm not hating... just educating! So enjoy your cheesy dough, and CPK (California pizza kitchen) type of pie, but don't forget that if you ever want a slice of genuine pizza pie you've got to come down to my neck of the woods. NYC has some fabulous pizza joints, but the best and arguably first pizza place in the US is Peppi's pizza in New Haven, CT. Check it out, and then, and ONLY then, will you know what its all about!

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  • 26. Posted by meggiepoo12395 on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:22 pm PDT

    freaks i hate olives on my pizza it tastes like crap to me

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  • 27. Posted by alexanderavis on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:22 pm PDT

    To make pizza you have to use high gluten flour or it will not work. That is what gives pizza that stretchy, chewy texture. Regular flour will make bread and will tear when you try to toss it. Get a clue dude!

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  • 28. Posted by mr_bill_needle on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:22 pm PDT

    I followed this recipe to the letter. It left me sick as a dog for two weeks. That's the last damn pizza that'll ever cross my lips.

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  • 29. Posted by bearcreekangus on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:22 pm PDT

    What is prosciutto? What kind of cheese is manchego and is there a substitute for it? I live in a small town and do not have access to international grocery stores.

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  • 30. Posted by hauk1net on Sat, May 10, 2008, 12:23 pm PDT

    I live in Texas and even I know you have to go to Chicago or New York for the perfect pizza.

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