Pieces of Napoli

My family is from Napoli; better known as Naples, Italy. One thing Napoli is famous for is the pizza!! Oh, you have not lived until you've had the pizza from Napoli. It's fresh and delicous!!

I was on a sweet overload and found myself searching for savory recipes. I decided to make pizza because, to be honest, I've never made my own pizza dough before(I know I'm so ashamed)!! But being Italian proved to be a very big advantage. I don't think I've ever had pizza dough quite like the one I made(okay I'm alittle biased but the boyfriend loved it too). The recipe I found was simple and the techniques for punching the dough were easy enough! If you've never made your own pizza dough, you're in for a treat with this recipe.

Pizza Dough:

3/4 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)

4 teaspoons of sugar

1 tablespoon good olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 whole packet of active dry yeast

2 cups of flour

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Heat the water in a small bowl until it is exactly 105-115 degrees. Mix in the yeast, the sugar and 1 teaspoon of flour into the water and wait for the yeast to start bubbling. When yeast comes alive (this was literally my favorite part of this process! I was so excited when my yeast bubbled) mix it together with the rest of the ingredients. Knead it together until your dough forms.

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Using a fresh bowl, cover the bottom with good olive oil and place the dough into the bowl. Make sure the top of the dough has a coating of olive oil so it doesn't dry out. Cover the bowl with a damp warm dish towel and let the dough rise for 60-90 minutes in a place where there won't be any sort of draft.
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After the dough has risen, grease a pan (I used a pan because I enjoy thin, crispy crust but by all means if you have a pizza stone or any other pizza pans, use them!) and spinkle ground corn meal on the pan. The corn meal makes the bottom nice and crispy! Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees while you make your pizza. First, put your dough on a floured surface and punch it a few times(stress reliever!) until all the air bubbles are gone. Don't roll out your dough, it should be able to stretch onto your pan when its rested long enough. After you've stretch your dough onto a pan, put your toppings on! I decided on spicy sausage, fresh spinach, and sweet, roasted tomatoes for my pizza.

This recipe turned out delicious, I'll never order pizza again! It's so good when its crispy and warm made with ingredients you KNOW are fresh. Homemade pizza dough = my new obsession.