Pizza from scratch

In this installment of Alex tries new things, I am going to spend the next three days running through Martha's basic pizza recipe. Of course, this did not actually TAKE me three days, but because it required three different recipes, I thought this would be the best way to organize things. That, and I'm super lazy right now because I have submitted (count them) 33 medical school applications. Vomit.

Day 1: The crust

I bought yeast. Never thought it would come to this. Does this mean I'm a real baker now? Martha? What do you think?

Well, I feel special. For the crust, I simple took a cup of hot water, added a packet of the quick yeast from the grocery store and included 2 teaspoons sugar. I let this sit for 5 minutes, per Martha's instructions and then added in flour - 1:1 ratio of whole wheat and white.

After mixing this together and getting most of it on my hands as I kneaded it, I managed to scrape some off to sit for 45 minutes. After this, I "punched" the dough (great way to get out my anxiousness) and let it sit for another 30.

Miraculously it worked, and I was left with a nice, fluffy dough circle.

Tomorrow: special olive oil. Don't let the anticipation kill you!'

Recipe: (Martha is my grlll) from http://www.marthastewart.com/333200/basic-grilled-pizza-dough

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 packet (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl and brushing
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 1/4 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

Directions

1. Pour 1 cup warm water into a medium bowl; add sugar and sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy, 5 minutes.
   
2. Whisk oil and 1 teaspoon salt into yeast mixture. Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until liquid is incorporated (dough will appear dry). Turn out onto a floured work surface. Knead until dough comes together in an elastic ball, 2 minutes. Transfer to an oiled medium bowl; brush lightly with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; set in a warm, draft-free place until dough has doubled in bulk, 45 minutes. Punch down dough and cover; let rise another 30 minutes.
   
3. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Let rest 15 minutes before using.