Pizza Pizza

Hi there!!! I hope this Thursday morning finds you well! It's almost the weekend! Woohoo!! For us the weekend means pizza will be happening!!! We do pizza nights a lot here at the presidential household...typically Friday nights, but crazier things have happened and we will do other nights as well...sometimes...get this...two nights in one week! Ha! I get sooooo many questions from friends, family, insta friends on how we do our pizza! So I finally decided to write a post that I can refer people to when they ask me. There are a few key items that make the best pizzas! Here we go!!! Tonight, I'm sure I'll dream of fresh mozzarella cheese and bread after writing this! Ha!

First things first...you MUST use a Pizza Stone!!!! MUST!!!! The amazing part of a stone is you that you pre-cook it at 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes and then you slide the pizza onto it...the bottom of the pizza will be cooked to perfection. I have two of this stone. Ours are wayyyyyyy seasoned. You must season your stone prior to using. You can do so with cornstarch! Your stone will be seasoned within a few times of using it. I don't use the metal stand. I just remove the stones from the oven and place them on my stove! There are a TON of pizza stone options out there! This is just what we use (one was a wedding gift and I bought the second) and love them!

Next up is the Pizza Peel! This is another necessity! You assemble your pizza dough and toppings on this fabulous peel (floured...lots of flour) and then slide your pizza onto your pre-cooked stone, already in the oven! This product is life changing if you make a lot of pizzas like we do. 

Onto more pizza stones! In the summer, we love to do grilled pizzas and we use these Cordierite Pizza Stones. They come in a set of 6. So fun! Everyone can build and make their own pizzas! The kids love this and we have done this for friends and family as well. Happiness all around! We love to grill veggies of all sorts, chicken (my hubs loves this...not me!) and then add them to the pizzas before we grill them. I pre-heat these stones in the oven (500 degrees for at least 30 minutes) before we grill them, as well. You must season these stones too!

Pizza Cutters are a must as well! You need it to cut through the crust for sure! We have a basic one like this but I am adding this and this to my wish list (Mother's Day, Birthday, Just because! Ha!)! 

They look AWESOME!!!!! 

A good dough recipe is key! We have used this recipe which is from the Baking Illustrated cookbook. I need to add this book to my wish list too! I have used this recipe so long that I know it by heart. I always try to make a few batches at a time so that I can keep it in the freezer! Here are two batches that I made last week, which will make 2 large pizzas each(so 4 large pizzas altogether) or 4 mini pizzas each(so 8 mini pizzas altogether). This is what it looks like when it's rising.

Here is our pizza from last Friday night. We did one pizza and did half grilled veggies and prosciutto and half cheese (for the little presidents). The possibilities are endless. We have made so many amazing pizzas over the years. You can have so much fun with the toppings. We have a few favorites of course!  My pizzas have gotten rounder over the years. I like that they're not perfect circles. Perfection is overrated. :)

King Arthur Bread Flour is the only way to go for bread flour in my opinion. Love it!

So there you go! Those are our key items for a fabulous, delish and fun pizza night! After lots of practice you might even be able to toss your dough up the air like I do!  Haven't dropped it yet! It helps to sing "Hey Mambo, Mambo Italiano" while tossing the dough in the air! :) Just remember to have fun with it! Pizza nights are a blast for everyone! 

Hopefully you will have your own pizza night this weekend! Maybe even add in a mojito! :) Have a fabulous and blessed couple of days!

xoxo,

Ashley