Pizza

It should come as no great surprise, to anyone, that I love pizza. To me pizza is the perfect food. Pizza crust is just a platform to transport all manner of delicious foods to your mouth (literally). Last nights pizza was no exception. A pizza is only as good as its crust, and that is something (until last night) I had problems with. I could never get my crust crispy enough or thin enough for my liking. Well I discovered a new recipe for a cracker crust pizza dough that I think for me ticks all the boxes.

Cracker Crust Pizza Dough 3/4 cup cool water 1/4 cup canola oil 1-1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 1 teaspoon sugar 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more as needed Directions For the pizza dough, pour the water, oil, salt, and sugar into a large bowl. Add 1 cup of the flour and whisk until smooth. Switching to a wooden spoon, gradually add the remaining flour, stirring until the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead until it is smooth and supple (like a baby's tushie), about 5 minutes. Divide the dough into two or three equal pieces, shape each one into a rough disk, cover with a cloth, and let rest on a board between 30 minutes and 3 hours. I let mine rest for as long as it took me to clean house.Roll out each piece of dough between two sheets of parchment paper (this makes it easier to transfer to your preheated pizza stone in the oven. Brush a little olive oil on the surface of the crust and spread on a little sauce cheese and whatever else you have planned.

For our pizzas last night I used a really light tomato basil sauce and roasted garlic.

Then I added on some grated mozzarella and the last little bit of fresh mozzarella I had taking up space in my fridge.

Then I slid the pizza parchment paper and all onto my preheated (500 degrees)pizza stone and cooked it between 15 and 18 min.

The last couple of minutes of cooking I tossed a handful of chopped fresh spinach onto the top of the pizza.

The pizza was amazing, the crust was crisp, the cheese melty (should be a word), and the sauce was not to heavy. To say the least we cleaned our plates.

The sauce was super easy to make and can also be made ahead. I took a can of diced tomatoes with the juice and poured into a small sauce pan. I added 1 whole sprig of basil, a pinch of fresh rosemary, pinch of sugar, oregano and chili flakes. I also added a clove of that roasted garlic a couple of tablespoons of water (you could use red wine)and brought it to a boil turned it down to a simmer and let it bubble away for about 20 min. You may have to add a little more liquid during the cooking. Let the sauce cool some and put it into your food processor and give it a couple of good turns. When you have the consistency you want your done.

Pizza the perfect food!