This summer, try having a make-your-own-pizza night! Topping your pizza with all your faves and enjoying it on the patio with your family on a summer night makes for great memories! The good news is that we have fresh pizza dough and sauce available in our grab-and-go cooler section to make it easier for you. Homemade pizza dough only improves in texture if left to slowly rise in a refrigerator for a few days, which means that once you get home, the dough is ready for you to start experimenting with your favourite flavours and toppings.
Time to Shape!
Each package of Lepp’s Pizza Dough is enough for two medium size, thin-crust pizzas. Remove the dough from the fridge and the plastic bag and divide in half. Reform the two halves into balls and place them on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover with a clean kitchen towel to ensure it doesn’t dry out. Rest the dough for 2 hours to allow the gluten proteins to relax. Otherwise, the dough will always try to snap back into shape as you work with it to stretch it out. Resting also allows the yeast and gases time to expand to increase elasticity and lightness so that the dough won’t be hard and chewy.
During the last hour of the resting time, prepare your oven. Place your pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F, or the highest setting, with the rack set about 8”, or ⅓ of the way from the top. It should be in the oven for 20-30 minutes to heat it. If you are using a baking sheet, place the rack in the middle of the oven but do not preheat the baking sheet.
Dust your countertop, the back of the baking sheet, or pizza peel with cornmeal or flour. Generously flour both sides of the pizza ball.
Sprinkle a small handful of flour on your countertop, evenly spreading it out with your fingers. Stretch the dough to a 5-6” diameter, and using your index fingers, press a rim into the dough, about 1/2” from the edge. Gently flatten the center of the dough area with your fingertips, removing any air bubbles. Don’t use too much force.
Then pick the dough up and, with your thumbs in the 10 and 2 o’clock position, turn and stretch the dough (clockwise or counterclockwise). Gently rotate the dough in one direction and pull the dough from hand to hand as the dough hangs down. Imagine you are turning a steering wheel, using slight turns.
When the dough has stretched to 10-12” in diameter, lay it down on the flour-dusted pizza peel or baking tray. Be gentle; you want to deflate the dough as little as possible. Brush the rim of the dough with olive oil (optional) and sprinkle kosher salt over the surface of the dough (optional).
Time to Sauce!
You’ll find a top-quality, house-made Pizza Sauce sauce in our grab and go section, or choose one of the sauces in our grocery aisle. Use about a ½ cup of sauce per pizza. Other delicious options include pesto, your favourite BBQ sauce, or even Alfredo sauce.
Time to Top!
There are endless ways you can top your pizza, but we’ve found some of our favorites! Using fresh, local ingredients not only tastes amazing, but also makes a feast for the eyes.
Here’s a list of toppings we’ve found to be delicious, scroll further to see our favorite combinations!
- Boves Alfredo sauce
- Smoked Fume-eh Artichokes Artichokes
- Prosciutto
- Lepp’s Farm Ham
- Lepp’s Pizza Pepperoni
- Red Onion
- Fresh white mushrooms
- Red Pepper
- Buffalo Mozzarella
- Farm House Chevre
- Shredded mozzarella
- Fresh Basil
- Silver & Green olives – great for snacking while you’re cooking
- Parmesan
- Pineapple (yes, we believe pineapple goes on pizza!)
Time to Bake!
On a Pizza Stone
Load the pizza in the oven. Make sure to generously flour your pizza peel or pizza tray to ensure the pizza can slide easily off the tray and onto the pizza stone. Bake at 500 degrees for 3-5 minutes. The more toppings you put on the pizza, the longer it will take to bake.
If you feel the pizza isn’t crispy enough for your taste, turn the setting back to broil, and bake another 2-3 minutes: watch closely! Bake until the crust is blistery and cheese is bubbly. Remove pizza stone from the oven and, using a wide spatula, slide the pizza onto a cutting board. Allow to sit for 5-7 minutes before slicing to allow the cheese time to set. Return the stone to the oven and reheat for 3-5 minutes (on broil or bake setting) between pizzas.
On a Baking Sheet
Bake on a middle rack at 500 degrees until blistery and bubbly: 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!
