Do you go through certain recipes frequently for a while and then replace them with another set of recipes?  I do this a lot.  I’ll make the same recipes for a while until I realize that I’m making it once a week or so and then I switch for some other dish, only to do the same thing all over again.  Homemade pizza was one of those lazy Susan recipes that rotated and rotated for dinner.

Pizza has always been a favorite in my house.  My husband would have pizza every day when he was young for lunch.  (That’s the story I’ve been told.)  Have you ever seen “Appian Way” pizza?  The fact is, I had never heard about it until he bought some. I haven’t checked the market for it lately.  I’m not sure if they still make it.  It’s a little box that looks like a mac-n-cheese box.  It holds a few packets.  Yes, it’s totally processed.  There is a dough packet, a sauce packet and a little parmesan cheese packet.  My husband would eat anything that resembled pizza. Of course, he had his favorites.  He loved Appian Way pizza just the way it was, no mozzarella, just parmesan cheese.  I think it reminded him of his childhood.

I started making my own pizza dough after I received a cookbook simply titled “Pizza”.  I would knead the dough by hand, thinking that this would make the best dough, you know, doing it the traditional way.  Well, I learned better.  A standup mixer with a dough hook creates a just as good if not better dough.  We would often have kids over and each one would have an individual pizza that they could fix any way they wanted.  I once had the whole high school faculty making their own pizzas.  Good thing I had three ovens available.  Everyone brought a fixing and I provided the dough.  It was great fun!

For every night dinners, I would double the recipe.  That way we could get four 12-inch pizzas.  The fourth was always this Apple Pizza.  It’s a great and easy dessert.  You don’t have to make your own dough.  Most supermarkets carry some.  I love the feeling of pizza dough.  It’s soft and dense, smooth and not sticky.  I love handling it.  Remember that you can slow rise it in the refrigerator and make it a day ahead.  Just follow the recipe.  When you set the dough in the oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the frig.  Take it out about 1 hour before you baking and continue along with the recipe.

The dough in this recipe will make two pizzas.  So, you can make a savory one and a dessert one.  Search for “Make Ahead Pizza Rolls” on the blog, if you need a simple homemade pizza sauce.  Buon Appetito!

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups Warm Water

1 packet Yeast

3 1/2-3 3/4 cups Unbleached Flour

2 Tbls. Olive Oil

1 Tbl. Salt

3 Apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1/3 cup Sugar

1 Tbl. Butter

Read the Yeast packet for the water temperature that’s needed.  It does vary.  In your mixer bowl or other large bowl (if kneading by hand), pour the Water and sprinkle the Yeast packet over it.  Let sit for 5  minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl by oiling it with Olive Oil.

Add Flour, Olive Oil and Salt to the Yeast and stir or mix until incorporated.  Now, use the hook on your mixer or knead by hand for 10 minutes.

Place in the oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until it doubles in size, about 1 hour. If you are making ahead, place the bowl with the dough into the refrigerator for no more than 24 hours.

As the dough reaches it’s full rise, peel, core and slice the Apples.

 

Once the dough has doubled, punch it.  Split in half. Remember this is enough for two pizzas.

Stretch one-half of the dough out to fit into your 12-inch oiled pizza pan.

Let it rest 10 minutes or so.  Meanwhile, set your oven to 475 degrees.

Place the Apples on the dough.  It doesn’t have to be perfect.  This is pizza, not a tart, so relax.

Sprinkle the Sugar over the Apples and little on the crust edge.  Dot with the Butter.

 

Bake in the 475 degree oven for 10 – 15 minutes until edges are golden brown.  Slice into 8 pieces.

Each slice contains 196 Calories, 3.2 grams Fat, 39.1 grams Carbs, 2.8 grams Protein.

The last time I made this dessert, I listened to Andrea Bocelli’s Passione CD, mostly Italian songs with a few Spanish and English ones thrown in the mix.  I love his voice.

Until next time, eat well, drink well and live well.  Ciao!