$3ADDP: Pizza Dough

So you've all seen it, pizza for $5 carry out. That's about $0.63 a slice. Cheap, but not really cheap enough. I'm trying to get the main courses we eat under $1, not including sides. Husband will not eat only 1 slice of pizza, it's physically impossible for him. I think it's the pie shape.

So here's a pizza dough recipe adapted from Cooks.com that I will use as a basis for many a dinner during the project:

2 cups bread or all purpose flour ($0.36)
2 cups whole wheat flour ($0.45)
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water ($0.00)
1 packet active dry yeast, or 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast ($0.33)
2 tablespoons olive oil (any good brand), but extra virgin is best ($0.11)
1 1/4 teaspoon salt ($0.02)
1 teaspoon sugar, or 1 teaspoon honey ($0.01)
1/4 cup milk or 1/4 cup water ($0.00)

Preheat oven 450°F.

I prefer using water for the liquid in this recipe because it's practically free. But the original recipe states that water adds flavor to the dough.

Using a large ceramic mixing bowl, or any suitable food safe bowl, add the flour, make a "well" in middle, and put in 1 teaspoon salt, stir to combine well. Set aside.

Prepare the starter: In a liquid measuring cup pour in 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water, 1 teaspoon sugar or honey, and one package of active dry yeast. Stir and set aside for 5 minutes. Allow to foam up (or proof).

Next, mix the starter (yeast water) and the water in the bowl containing the flour with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Stir together using a wooden spoon or clean hands.

I adapted this recipe to include whole wheat flour which tends to need more water than bread flour. Add water until the mixture is still slightly dry but has enough give for you to knead it. For me the cups of water ended at about 1.5-1.75 cups instead of the 1.25.

Note: You will need additional flour to knead on the surface that you're working on. Knead for about 8 minutes or until you get a smooth elastic rubbery dough ball.

Set aside in bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil to keep the dough from drying out. Let dough sit covered lightly with plastic wrap or use a plate or damp clean towel to cover it.

Allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes to an hour. Flatten dough and press out into a circle to fit the pan it will be baked in. Spread it out evenly, don't be afraid to lift underneath to stretch the dough. Sprinkle baking pan with yellow cornmeal or Farina. If you don't have these on hand you can use flour or simply grease the pan with olive oil using a paper towel. The dough makes 2 - 12 slice pizzas at $0.05 a slice. Slice the dough in half and keep the second half for another time.

Add meat sauce and some cheese on one. These are the ingredients in a quick and easy meat sauce and the amount of cheese I used:

1/2 onion ($0.08)
1/4 head of garlic ($0.06)
1/4 a jar of tomato sauce ($0.25)
3 oz ground beef ($0.84)
3 oz cheese - I suggest you use very finely grated mozzarella cheese because it seems like more when grated this way. ($1.50)

Bake for about 12-14 mins, but watch it! I don't have a picture of the final pizza because I kind of burned it.

At 12 slices, that's $0.23 a slice plus $0.05 a slice for the dough totaling $0.28 a slice and approximately 138 calories each.

This is the recipe I used for the pizza from Day 1.