Papa Jeff's Pizza

Pizza, just the way my Pop made it growing up. Crispy, thin, handmade crust. Delicious.

Good

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Heat oven to 200ºF and then turn off

Step 2

Add 4 cups of hot water, 4 tbsp of olive oil, 2 tsp salt and 1 1/2 tbsp yeast to large (oven safe) mixing bowl

Step 3

Stir until thoroughly mixed.

Step 4

Add 4 cups of unbleached flour and stir until blended.

Step 5

Let sit for 5 min to give yeast a head start.

Step 6

Stir in 1 cup of flour at a time until dough thickens (probably about 5 more cups).

Step 7

Knead dough for 5-7 minutes, sprinkling more flour onto the dough ball if it becomes too sticky.

Step 8

When the dough becomes tough, but springy and only slightly sticky, grease with a glug of olive oil, spreading to cover the ball.

Step 9

Cover with a cloth and put in the still-warm oven (from Step 1) for 45 min to an hour.

Step 10

Wash, chop, and prep all desired toppings

Step 11

(If making red sauce) Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, and oregano into a bowl and mix. You might also experiment with a few dashes of cumin, rosemary, and/or a pinch of sugar.

Step 12

Punch down dough and knead a little. Pinch off a desired amount for 1 pizza (e.g. grapefruit sized piece).

Step 13

Roll out the dough on an a pan oiled with vegetable oil, and shape to pan.

Step 14

Toast crust: Place pan in oven for 4 minutes in 500ºF oven.

Step 15

Remove crust from oven and transfer to a second pan that is either nonstick or dusted with cornmeal. (This is important because we want the crust to be able to slide easily onto rack)

Step 16

Apply pesto or red sauce as preferred, cheese, and other toppings on crust.

Step 17

Place pizza in oven and cook for 4 minutes on pan.

Step 18

Slide pizza on rack and cook to desired crispness (another 4 minutes)

Step 19

With tongs, pull pizza onto a cutting board to slice up pizza.

Step 20

Serve and enjoy :)