Stone Ground Pizza Crust and a Heart Shaped Pizza

On the Menu Today~
Stone Ground Pizza Crust and a
Heart Shaped Pizza

Happy Valentine's Day~

I hope you had a great Valentine's Day~
I spent the day with my hubby and grandson,
my two favorite guys.
We started the day off with a breakfast of
pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs...

It was an extremely frigid day here in Northern WI,
with wind chills dipping to -12.
We decided to hibernate today and
stayed in our pj's all day.

We made chocolate chip cookies and had pizza.
I had some pizza dough in my freezer and
homemade pizza it was.

Since it was Valentine's Day.....
Why not make a Heart Shaped Pizza~

In the freezer I had a homemade pizza dough made with Stone Ground Rye Flour~

Nothing is better than a homemade pizza and
pizza made with a homemade crust.....
Fantastic....
A pizza shaped like a heart.......
well, that's just plain cute!

Stone Ground Rye flour gives this pizza crust a nice nutty flavor.
I have made this crust before using whole wheat flour and
all-purpose flour, with equally wonderful results.
If you want a thin crust, divide dough into two balls,
use one ball right away and
tightly wrap the second ball in plastic wrap and
freeze until needed.

Heart Shaped Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups stone ground rye flour
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Cooking Directions

1. In a large bowl dissolve sugar in warm water.
2. Sprinkle yeast over the top.
3. Let stand for about 10 minutes and foamy.
4. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture.
5. Mix in the stone ground rye flour and 1 cup of the flour until dough starts to come together.
6. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining flour.
7. Knead until all of the flour has been absorbed and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes.
8. Place dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat the surface.
9. Cover loosely with a towel and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
10. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Punch down. Divide dough into 2 balls for 2 thin crusts or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a ball. Let rise again, for about 45 minutes or until doubled.
11. You can freeze dough at this point. (When the dough has doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Punch down, form into a tight ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Freeze until dough is needed. To defrost: Remove crust from freezer. Defrost in refrigerator overnight or for at least 8 hours.)
12. Preheat oven to 425º
13. Flour pizza peel and sprinkle with 2 to 4 tablespoons cornmeal.
14. Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it won't stretch any further. Drape the dough over both of your fists and gently pull the edges outward while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place pizza on pizza peel. Shape dough into a heart shape by cutting a "V" in the top and tapering the dough downward to form a heart.
15. Top pizza with your favorite toppings such as: sauce, cheese, meats, and/or vegetables.
16. Place pizza directly on oven rack.
17. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes in a preheated oven or bake until the crust is crispy and golden brown and cheese is melted.
18. Cooking times will vary depending on how thick or thin the crust is and if you bake the pizza in a pan or place directly on oven rack.

Pizza, Italian