Rising to the occasion

I think I've discovered a recipe that's difficult to screw up.

Last week, Southeast Missourian Recipe Swap columnist Susan McClan-ahan and I e-mailed each other about our favorite pizza restaurant, Pagliai's, which reopened after a few months of renovations. Our conversation put me in the mood to try and bake my very own pizza.

I've cooked pizzas in the past -- but it consisted of opening a box and placing a frozen disc in the oven for about 20 minutes.

So when I found a recipe for a deep-dish pizza in the newest "Taste of Home" cookbook, I decided to give it a try. A recipe for inside-out brussels sprouts -- submitted by Cape Girardeau resident Shirley Max -- was also featured in the cookbook. I'm not a big fan of brussels sprouts or I would have tried Shirley's recipe.

Here are the ingredients for the pizza:

Crust

1 (1/4-ounce) package of active dry yeast

2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon marjoram

1/2 teaspoon garlic

1/2 teaspoon onion salt

Toppings

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 pound Italian sausage

1 can diced tomatoes, well drained

1 ounce sliced pepperoni

I knew the first step of this recipe -- activating the yeast -- would be tricky. Every Thanksgiving my father makes delicious homemade crescent rolls for dinner. In the past, he's asked my younger sister and me to help so we would learn the art of baking with yeast. I was never interested, but my sister always joined in. So when I told my sister I planned to bake a pizza with homemade dough, she warned me:

"Don't let the water get too hot or you'll kill the yeast and your dough won't rise," she said.

With that instruction in mind, I got started on my pizza dough one afternoon last week.

Jennifer's dough didn't rise the first time, and kneading didn't help much.

In a bowl, I poured 2/3 cup of what I thought was warm enough water to dissolve the yeast. After mixing it for a few minutes, I added 1 cup of flour, the vegetable oil and the seasonings. When this was blended together, I added another 3/4 cup of flour to form the dough.

The instructions called for me to knead the dough until "smooth and elastic" or for about six minutes. Thankfully, I've caught a glimpse of my dad kneading dough in the past so I was familiar with this technique.

Once I was finished kneading the dough, I put it in a greased bowl and covered it with a towel. The instructions said it would take about an hour for the dough to rise and double in size. It didn't. So I had to try again. This time, though. after an hour had passed, I crossed my fingers and pulled back the towel to reveal my pizza dough. Sure enough, it had doubled in size.

Amazed that my dough actually rose, I stuck my finger in it, only to watch it slowly shrink back down to its original size. I'm not sure if that was supposed to happen.

According to the recipe, the dough was suppose to stretch across the bottom and up over the edge of the pan. Jennifer's first batch was unsuccessful to fit those requirements due to the fact the dough did not rise. (Diane L. Wilson)

The next instruction said to punch the dough down and roll it into a 15-inch circle. I forgot to use a rolling pin, and was only able to shape the dough into about a 9-inch circle. I placed it into a pie pan and pressed the dough down to form the edge of the crust.

When I had finished the crust, I prepared some of the toppings. I cooked the Italian sausage and sauted the green pepper and onions in separate skillets. Unfortunately, I forgot to add the dried oregano, basil and marjoram to the green pepper and onions, which I realized after I had finished cooking them. Oh well, I'm not perfect!

Once the most difficult part of the recipe was complete, I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn't sure how everything was going to taste, but the kitchen smelled pretty good.

This recipe called for multi tasking of preparing some of the ingredients on the stove while working with the dough on the counter. Surprising, nothing burned. (Diane L. Wilson)

Next came the layering of the pizza toppings. I worked at a pizza restaurant for about a month during high school, so I knew how to apply toppings to a pizza.

First came 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, then the layer of green peppers and onions, then 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, the sausage and diced tomatoes. And finally another layer of mozzarella cheese.

The pizza went into a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes.

After it was finished baking, the recipe said to place the pepperoni on top of the pizza and bake it for another 10 minutes. However, my pizza looked like it would burn if it went into the oven any longer, so the pepperoni never made it on my pizza.

The recipe called for several layers of ingredients, but Jennifer's choice pan could only hold one layer. (Diane L. Wilson)

Once it had cooled off, I brought the pizza to work for my co-workers to sample. Even though I didn't tell them I forgot to add some of the seasonings and my dough didn't rise like it should have, most were impressed with my homemade pizza, maybe I'm in the wrong business!

Want to read about an inexperienced chef attempting to cook your favorite meal? Every fourth week, Jennifer Freeze will whip up something new in the kitchen and write about the experience. E-mail your recipes to jfreeze@semissourian.com or mail them to Jennifer Freeze, Southeast Missourian, 301 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701.