Fridays are so often pizza nights – once you get the hang of doing it yourself, you’ll have a hard time dropping $40 on takeout. Pizza dough is a snap to mix and knead, and the hour it needs to spend hanging out on the countertop isn’t really a big deal when you’re at home, decompressing and getting things sorted out from a week of work and school. Let the kids mix it up, and by the time you’re changed and ready to bake, it will be soft and poufy and ready to go. To bake, roll the dough out thin (it will rise again in the oven), set on a flour or cornmeal-dusted baking sheet, top with sauce, toppings and grated cheese of your choice and bake at 450˚F for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.
Pizza with Flax Crust
Flaxseed Pizza Dough
1 pkg. (or 2 tsp.) active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, or half all-purpose and half whole wheat
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. flax, olive or canola oil
In a large bowl, stir the yeast and sugar into a cup of warm water; set aside for 5 minutes, until it’s foamy. (If it doesn’t get foamy, either your water was too hot and killed the yeast or it was inactive to begin with – toss it and buy fresh yeast or try again!)
Add 2 1/2 cups of the flour, flaxseed, salt and oil and stir until the dough comes together. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 8 minutes, until it’s smooth and elastic, adding a little more flour if the dough is too sticky.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat all over. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for half an hour to an hour, until doubled in bulk. If you want you can let it rise more slowly in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours.
Makes enough for 2-3 large pizzas.