Tips & Tricks

So I have a Pizza Packet.  Now what?

First Steps:

• Allow dough to come up to room temperature.
• Preheat oven 9and pizza stone if you’re using one) to 500 degrees.
• Grab a bowl of flour.  About 2 cups is plenty.  You just want to drop the dough in the flour to get it well covered, making it easier to work with.
• Ready a pizza-prep surface (such as a piece of parchment paper, the flat side of a baking sheet, or a pizza peel) with a dusting of flour.
• Gather your sauce, cheese, and toppings.

Toppings that render fat or water (like sausage, spinach, and mushrooms) should be cooked ahead of time.

To Prepare:

• Once dough is at or around room temp, drop it into the flour to cover.
• Over the pizza-prep surface, pick up the ball of dough; hold it by the top, and allow gravity to pull the weight of the dough down, stretching it ever so slightly.  Move your hands around the ball of dough as if it were a steering wheel, letting the dough stretch gently and naturally.  You should neither knead nor truly ‘stretch’ the dough.  Just allow gravity to do its thing!  After a minute or two of turning the dough, your pizza should start taking (a roughly 10-12 inch) shape.  Don’t worry if it’s not perfectly round!
• Lay the dough flat on your pizza prep surface, push out a little more toward the edges if necessary, and top as desired.
• Each pizza packet includes enough sauce for 2 pizzas (about 4 oz each.)
• Remember to use a light hand when topping – We recommend about 3 toppings.  Any more than that, and you risk losing the crispness of the crust.
• If you are using a pizza stone, slide the pizza onto the stone from the pizza prep surface.  If your prep surface is also your cook surface (like a piece of parchment paper,) place in the preheated oven, and cook for about 10 minutes.

For Gluten-Free Pizza Dough, you obviously don’t want to drop it into a bowl of flour!  Here’s what to do:  Simply allow your dough to come to room temperature, and on a flat surface, push out the dough from the middle to the edges, using your finger tips, and gently turning the pizza as you work.  Anna B says to use either your favorite g/f flour or a little bit of oil to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.  When the pizza is about 10 inches around, top using the method described above!  Bake in a 475 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

A video demo of stretching the dough

Kit Basics

Dough/kits will keep in the refrigerator for one week, or place them in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

To thaw your frozen marinara or white sauce, heat in the microwave for 2 minutes on medium power. Use caution when moving the container of sauce.  If your sauce is not completely thawed, try another 30 seconds on medium power. Alternately, you can leave your sauce out for about 20 minutes. (The time it takes to bring your dough to room temperature is an excellent time to do this.)

The marinara sauce is vegan; the white sauce, basil pesto, and Sicilian pesto are vegetarian. Our vodka sauce, which is available in the fall and winter, has pancetta in it and is perfect for omnivores!