Life by Jen

First recipe post. Here we go. I have six people to feed every
single day. Like, EVERY day. It’s amazingly difficult to feed them without
making the same things over and over and over. It’s impossible to come up with
creative ideas and food that are tasty and that we don’t all get sick of. One
thing things that kids never seem to get sick of is pizza. Of course I can’t
compete with Domino’s. Not even close. But… I can create some pretty darn good
pizza and pizza-adjacent food. The basis of all of this is a solid pizza dough
recipe that I can use over and over again in a variety of recipe variations.

My personal favourite is a braided garlic bread that works
as an impressive side dish. It’s excellent for a potluck favourite, supporting
actor for a great soup, or vehicle for homemade dips. It’s shockingly easy, but
looks so good and makes the whole house smell like a bakery.

The house favourite is a copycat of every pizza place.
Little bits of garlic parmesan bread. Brushed with garlic butter and sprinkled
with parmesan, the kids eat this as fast as it comes out of the over and there
are never (ever) left overs. It’s best served with marinara or the obvious
choice of ranch. Though, I’m sure my kids would eat a dish sponge with ranch.

We have made so many kinds of pizza with this recipe.
Classic, basic cheese and pepperoni, which is never turned down. We have made
all types of make-your-own pizzas, with kids topping the pizzas with anything
from arugula to bacon to pineapple. My personal favourite involves all the good
cheeses, but particularly something I discovered on our last trip to
France—chevre (goat cheese) and honey.

Many, many years ago, I found a basic dough recipe. Over the
years, I have made changes to the recipe. I’ve varied it, tried it with and
without ingredients, depending what we have, and honed the important parts.
Like most people, I rarely have the all the ingredients on hand that I need for
any given recipe, so I improvise, but try to keep the basic ratios the same.

Ok, here it is:

Easy Pizza Dough Recipe

Servings: My Whole Family. 2 big pizzas or a lot of breadsticks or bites.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy as it gets.
Rating: 10/10
This is the pizza dough recipe we use ALL of the time. From actual pizza to breadsticks to garlic bread to makeshift pita, it’s amazing.

Ingredients:
* 5 cups flour
* 2 tablespoons yeast
* 2 teaspoons salt (or garlic salt)
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 2 cups water (lukewarm)
* 3 tablespoons of oil (any type works really), plus a little extra for the counter.
* Any other additions you might like (garlic, dill, onion powder, italian seasoning, parmesan cheese, etc.

Directions:
1. To a mixer, combine your water and yeast, and let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add salt, sugar, flour, oil, and any further add-ins (you can be very creative here!)
3. Preferably mix using dough hook on a kitchen-aid, but as long as it is mixed, it will work. Can turn out onto (oiled counter) counter if needed as well.
4. Divide dough as needed. This dough works best when baked at a high heat. Depending on how you use it, between 450 and 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Per Serving: None of my business.