Mr. Hawthorne Makes Pizza.

Sometimes, a pizza is all you need. Sometimes, a pizza is what you need. Mr. Hawthorne decided to make one last night, but, of course, I had to make the dough, since he doesn't know how. And I make darn good pizza dough.

First, add in a packet of yeast into some warm water.

Add a bit of sugar because that's hungry yeast there and it needs to eat.

Allow the yeast to "proof." That way, you know the yeast is active and working properly.

I always add in an egg.

Then a good squirt of olive oil.

Start adding in bread flour, a little bit at a time.

Then turn out onto a floured surface and add flour, a little bit at a time, kneading, until you get a nice, smooth, elastic dough.

Here's my trick for rapid rising. I heat up a wet towel in the microwave, then cover the dough with plastic wrap, cover with the hot towel, and leave in the microwave to rise.

In the meantime, Mr. Hawthorne chopped up an onion and some peppers from my garden.

Next, he cooked up some hamburger meat.

Added a bit of sausage to the mix.

And added the onions and peppers.

A small can of tomato paste went in. Stir, stir, stir.

The dough, risen, after 1 1/2 hours. Punch it down, give it a few kneads, then start spreading in the pan.

The key to spreading pizza dough is patience.

Spread a little bit then go away for a few minutes. Come back later, spread some more, and leave it. Be patient. Take your time. Spread out the dough slowly.

Until you have it spread all over the pan. Here, Mr. H. is setting the dough over the barely simmering veal stock remouillage, letting the steam help in the second rising.

Mr. Hawthorne prepares the toppings. Sliced mushrooms go into the microwave to be zapped for about 35 seconds to get the moisture out. Better get the moisture out on the paper towel than have it make a soggy pizza.

Here's the rest of the pizza dough. I wrapped it up in plastic and put it in the fridge for later use.

Mr. Hawthorne spread out cheddar cheese on top of the crust.

Then he spread out his tomato sauce.

More cheese, and the nuked shrooms, and some sliced tomatoes.

Onions and broccoli florets.

Pepperoni cheddar cheese slices and grated cheese.

Mozzarella cheese.

Bake. And Wallah! Fantastic pizza. This hit the spot. Simple, easy, quick, and delicious.