Unless you live in a pizza mecca where artisanal pies are commonplace, finding a really good slice of ‘za can be a challenge. Rather than expending all your resources trying to track down the perfect pie, why not create a masterful work of pizza art in your own oven? Even if it sounds intimidating, making really good homemade pizza is surprisingly easy, as long as you have the proper equipment and a good crust recipe. You want your crust to be crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and so tasty that even if it was stripped of all its mouth watering toppings, you’d still want to cram handfuls of it into your pie-hole (yes, the pun was intentional). Because no marriage is as sweet as the one shared between beer and pizza, I decided it was time to find out what would happen if the two became one. Needless to say, the result is sensational. You can use anything from a malty lager to a hopped up IPA for this recipe and be happy with the results. I used Oregon-based Hopwork’s Organic HUB Lager, and found that the light notes of honey found in this beer complemented the honey used in this recipe well.
Prep time: 40 minutes
Rest time: 2 hours
Cook time: 20 minutes
Makes two large pizzas
Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water, about 110 degrees fahrenheit
1 tablespoon honey
1 ¼ cup Hopworks Organic HUB Lager, warmed to about 110 degrees fahrenheit
4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions:
In a medium size pot over low heat, slowly warm beer to about 110 degrees fahrenheit.
While beer warms, in a separate bowl combine yeast, water and honey. Whisk gently and let sit for several minute until yeast begins to puff slightly.
In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment, combine flour and salt. Once yeast has activated and beer has warmed, add yeast mixture, beer and olive oil to flour and salt, mixing on low until dough forms into a ball and stops clinging to the sides of the bowl.
Remove dough from bowl and knead by hand for 2-3 minutes on a floured work surface. Once dough is smooth and no stickiness remains, divide in half and place into a large, greased bowl. Cover dough with a warm, damp towel and let rise 1-2 hours.
Once the dough has doubled in size, you can preheat the oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit, or place in fridge for up to 24 hours and make later.
When you’re ready to make your pizzas, roll dough out and place each on a greased, 16-inch pizza pan. Allow to rise on pizza pans for at least 15 minutes.
Top each pizza with your favorite toppings (I used a thin layering of marinara sauce, four kinds of cheese, pepperoni, and thin sliced red onions, green peppers and mushrooms).
Cook pizzas for 20 minutes, rotating on racks halfway through. For a crispier crust, remove pizzas from pan 15 minutes in and place directly on oven racks for remaining 5 minutes.
Let cool, slice and serve. It’s amoré.
