INGREDIENTS
Pizza Dough (Makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas):
- 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) warm water (105°F-115°F)
- 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast
- 3 3/4 cups (490 g) bread flour
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (omit if cooking pizza in a wood-fired pizza oven)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Pizza Ingredients:
- Tigertail Buffalo Beer Wing Sauce or Buffalo Ranch Wing Sauce
- Tomato sauce (smooth, or puréed)
- Firm mozzarella cheese, grated
- Fresh soft mozzarella cheese, separated into small clumps
- Fontina cheese, grated
- Parmesan cheese, grated
- Feta cheese, crumbled
- Bell peppers
- Chopped fresh basil
- Baby arugula
- Pesto
- Pepperoni, thinly sliced
- Onions, thinly sliced raw or caramelized
- Ham, thinly sliced
PREPARATION
- Preheat pizza stone (or pizza pan or baking sheet): Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 475°F for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour. If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can use a pizza pan or a thick baking sheet; you need something that will not warp at high temperatures.
- Divide the dough into two balls: Remove the plastic cover from the dough. Dust your hands with flour and push the dough down so it deflates a bit. Divide the dough in half, form two round balls of dough. Place each in its own bowl, cover with plastic and let sit for 15 minutes (or up to 2 hours).
- Prepare your desired toppings. Note that you are not going to want to load up each pizza with a lot of toppings as the crust will end up not crisp that way. About a third of a cup each of tomato sauce and cheese would be sufficient for one pizza.
- Working one ball of dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a lightly floured work surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further. Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter - 10 to 12 inches.
- Brush dough top with olive oil: Use your fingertips to press down and make dents along the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil (to prevent it from getting soggy from the toppings). Let rest another 10-15 minutes.
- Spread with tomato sauce and sprinkle with toppings: Spoon on the tomato sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and place your desired toppings on the pizza.
- Bake pizza one at a time until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes. If you want, toward the end of the cooking time you can sprinkle on a little more cheese.
- Add desired Tigertail sauce! (Recommendations: Buffalo Beer Wing Sauce, Buffalo Ranch Wing Sauce)