FNCCC Week #3 - Alexandra Guarnaschelli

The featured chef this week was Alexandra Guarnaschelli who grew up in the kitchen with her mother. This inspired me to let my girls help with this week's recipe, pizza! I posted about their experience HERE. They made cheese pizza and I topped mine with portabella mushrooms. We really enjoyed the pizza crust and would certainly use it again.

Basic Pizza Dough
Recipe courtesy Alex Guarnaschelli
Serves: 4 (6-inch) pizzas

Ingredients
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees F)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling dough
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (I used black pepper)
1 scant tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus some additional for coating the bowl/greasing the trays

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the yeast and warm water. Stir to dissolve the yeast and allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes.

Using a sieve or strainer, "sift" about half of the flour over the yeast mixture and blend until smooth with your hands. Add the salt, pepper and honey and mix to blend. Sift in the remaining flour and mix to blend.

Lightly flour a cutting board or flat surface. Turn the pizza dough onto the floured area and knead for 3 to 5 minutes. The flour should feel smooth and the ingredients fully integrated. Place the dough inside a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place, about 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in volume.

Press gently on the dough and turn it onto a floured surface. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts, rolling each quarter into a loose ball. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow the dough to rest for an additional 15 minutes. Flatten each ball, 1at a time, and roll into a 6-inch round. Place each round in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Tip for topping the pizza: Brushing the dough with olive oil can create a barrier that will help to prevent the topping from making the crust soggy.

For my pizza sauce I mix 2/3 tomato paste with 1/3 tomato sauce (whatever volume you need) with a generous amount of Italian seasonings.

Can't wait to see what you were cooking! Link up your post to Mr. Linky below. Next week's chef is Alton Brown who has about a zillion recipes. There's something for everyone so pickone and join in!