Pizza - all home made

I get huge number of question from khanakhazana readers about making Pizza at home. Buying a pre-fabricated pizza base from the market is not my idea of cooking either. Hey, if you want to get 1/2 of the Pizza from outside, why all the fuss, go ahead and just order delivery.

But, if you are one of those who spends some quality time in your kitchen, this is for you! One more thing, I think there are at least a million different varieties of pizza and pizza crust out there. So, it is an absolute delight to personalize your pizza, just the way you want it. Be creative, let it flow

I will share a basic dough method. It is easiest to make in a food processor or bread maker. However, go ahead and make it by hand. There's just a lot of mixing and kneading that way, but then you bond with your food, don't you?. Feel free to add ingredients to the dough to make it more interesting. I've often added chopped garlic, Dill (सोवा) and coriander leaves (धनिया).

What you need: 3 cup flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup warm water 1 package dry yeast 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon honey 3/4 cup water	Combine salt and flour. Dissolve the yeast in warm water; let sit for 10 minutes. Water should still be warm when you add the oil, honey, water, and yeast mixture to the flour. The dough should turn into a ball. If the dough does not ball up because it's too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until it does. If your mixture is more like a batter, add flour one tablespoon at a time. Adding water or flour as needed to get the right consistency will assure you always get a perfect dough. Just remember to do it in small amounts.
	Place the dough ball on a floured board and knead for about a minute. This builds the gluten which helps the dough to rise and become fluffy when cooked. Put the dough in a plastic grocery bag or a covered bowl and store in a warm, dry area to rise.
	After about 45 minutes the dough should have about doubled in size. Show it who's boss and punch it down. That's right, give it a good smack so it deflates. Let it rise for another hour to an hour and a half. The dough is now ready to be rolled out. You can punch the dough down one more time if you want and wait another hour or two before rolling out. The choice is yours.
	One mistake most people make when working with dough is not using enough muscle. I tell people that is actually an opportunity for a nice exercise of your hands. You can't really damage the dough so don't be afraid. When working with dough, use plenty of flour, but don't let it get too dry. It should be fun to work with, not too sticky and not too crumbly.
	Using both hands, one on top of the other, press from the center outwards on it to start stretching it out, turning the dough a bit on each push. You can also pick up the dough and squeeze the edges of it while turning it like a steering wheel. This allows the weight of the dough to stretch it. Once the dough is about 1/2" thick all the way around, use a rolling pin to flatten it out to about 1/4" thick and make it even. Take a fork and put puncture holes all over the dough. This keeps it from bubbling up while cooking and it also helps to hold the sauce on as well.
	Phew! now you are almost there. All you need to do now is to spread the sauce, add cheese and your choice of toppings, and bake at 400 F till the crust is golden.