So, we can all agree that LA has a lot of great food, right? If you’re looking to have some great sushi, Thai, Indian food or even a fabulous cup of coffee you can probably find it on almost any street in the city.  The one thing that LA is certainly lacking in, however, is good pizza. I’m not sure why the place I live has fallen into the black whole of delicious pizzas, but there is not one place that I have tried that comes even remotely close to the pesto pizza at Mellow Mushroom, and there are days when I contemplate buying a plane ticket just so I can gorge myself on the pizza at Barley’s.

So, since LA has done nothing to aid in my pizza addiction, I’ve taken matters into my own hands. In this endeavor, the first thing to tackle was the crust. Now, most of my friends are the type that will eat every bite of cheese and toppings and then leave their crusts to be discarded. I, on the other hand, specifically seek out slices with thick, doughy crusts and savor every bite.

After scouring the internet for various pizza dough recipes, I found one by the honorable Emeril Lagasse that after trying and re-trying a few times, I seem to have perfected to my liking. It’s sad to say, but the reason this recipe won out over all the others is that it didn’t necessitate me buying an additional flour. Most recipes called for bread flour and for some reason, the idea of having more than one type of flour in my pantry absolutely bugs me, and I therefore try to stick to only all-purpose flour recipes.  Please try to put up with my silly ridiculousness, I’ll try to keep it to a minimum on this blog.

So, I know that this is only a dough recipe, and most of you are probably like my friends and want to know where the toppings are. Stay tuned for my next post…

Pizza Dough

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

The main difference between this and the original is that I added some honey. It gave the dough a little more depth of flavor the slightest hint of sweetness.

Ingredients
1 cup warm water
1 packet dry yeast (roughly 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 1/4 cups flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl add the warm water and yeast and sugar and stir to dissolve the yeast. Wait ten minutes and allow the yeast to activate.

Add the olive oil, and honey and stir until the honey dissolves. Add the flour and salt. Mix together until a dough forms. Remove the dough from the bowl and, on a floured surface, knead and form into a smooth ball shape. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover with a clean, dampened towel. Place in a warm, draft free place for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the dough doubles in size. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll to desired size, then transfer to a pan or pizza stone.

2 Responses to “Pizza Dough”

1. mckenzie says:

   August 27, 2009 at

   Caroline!
   How dare you speak of pizza, and asheville and not mention the Brew and View!

   your blog is excellent, and when you do buy that ticket to gorge on Barley’s you will have a place to stay with me.
2. Caroline says:

   August 27, 2009 at

   OMG, I can’t believe I forgot it! Honestly, there’s so much good pizza in Asheville that it just isn’t fair! Oh, and I’m definitely taking you up on that offer