Pizza- Mentor Cooking Camp

Homemade Pizza

Just wanted to share what the kids made in camp today. They made the pizza dough and kneaded it by hand, rolled it out and added the toppings they wanted. I did handle the in and out of the oven part. If you ever thought making your own pizza was too hard let me point out that the first picture is a pizza made by a 6- year- old. The kids ranged in age from 6-11 and all did a great job. Here is the recipe they used.

Homemade Pizza

1 packet active dry yeast

1 t. sugar

4-4½ c. flour

2 t. salt

1 2/3 c. warm water

3 c. pizza sauce

16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

 Cornmeal

In bowl combine 2 cups of the flour with the yeast, sugar and salt. Add the water and stir to blend. Add flour gradually and keep stirring. Stir until soft dough forms. Place dough on floured surface and knead until stretchy and smooth, about 10 minutes. Allow dough to rest 3 minutes and knead a few more times. Place in bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Punch dough down. Divide dough in half and roll each half into a 12-inch circle. Dust back of baking sheet with cornmeal and place dough on cornmeal, pressing down a little. Slide dough off sheet and onto a clean baking sheet. Place half of the remaining ingredients on the dough and repeat with remaining half of dough. Add more toppings, if you like and bake in a preheated 450-degree oven for 13-15 minutes. Cool a few minutes before cutting. Makes 2 pizzas. 

Mini Pizzas: You can also divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll them out into 6-inch rounds. Then let each person make his or her own pizza. Bake a few minutes less than the big pizzas.