Shef D's Pizza - Includes Weight Watcher Exchange

Ok, if you've followed Shef D in the past, you've seen and maybe even tried his pizza dough recipe. Here is the Weight Watcher version! It's from the Weight Watcher site online and called the “Basic Pizza Dough” recipe By Pizza Perfect, from Weight Watchers Publishing Group (Note: The point value found on the Weight Watcher recipe site is 9. I and Mrs. Shef D respectfully disagree because we measured the point values using the Weight Watcher points calculator to determine the point values used in this post.) We added some some topping point exchanges to help you build your pizza while at the same time knowing the points you're adding.

The recipe yields enough dough for two medium sized pizzas. Here are some pictures to help you see what I call a medium pizza:

When sliced into eight (8) equal pieces, the Weight Watcher point value that Mrs. Shef D calculated for the pizzas I make using this recipe is five (5) points before adding the meat or meat alternative. The type of meat and/or meat alternative and quantity will determine the point exchange to add to the total point value once the the meat is added. The more toppings added will obviously increase the point value with the exception of adding additional vegetables and/or fruit such as pineapples.

Ingredients

Dough:

• 1 ½ cups water, warm (about 105 degrees F)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp yeast, or 1 package
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour (Shef D only uses 4 cups and sets aside ¼ cup to dust the dough until the stickiness is removed.)
• 1 1/2 tsp table salt
• 1 tsp of garlic powder (Added by Shef D)

Toppings for Shef D's Basic Pizza:

• 1 Tbsp reduced-calorie margarine
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 7.5 oz of store-bought pizza sauce (mix in ½ tsp oregano, ½ tsp of basil, ½ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp garlic powder and 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes.  This is how Shef D doctors up the sauce to give the pizza a better flavor.)
• 4 oz shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese
• 4 oz baby portabella mushrooms
• ½ large green pepper
• 1 medium sweet onion
• Meat Exchange – Spread evenly over the pizza.
  
  

  Meat Options & Alternatives
  Description	Quantity	Weight Watcher Points
  Pepperoni	4 Slices	1
  Turkey Pepperoni	8 Slices	1
  Pork Loin Chop	6 oz	8
  Chicken Breast	6 oz	6
  Ham – Extra Lean 95% Fat Free	1 oz	1
  MorningStar Farms Riblet	10 oz	12
  MorningStar Farms Blackened Bean Burger	1	3
  MorningStar Farms Sausage Style Crumbles	2/3 cup	2
  Bacon, Cooked, Crisp	3 slices	4
  Bacon Bits	1 tsp	¼
  Bacon, Turkey, Cooked, Crisp	3 slices	2
  Olives	6 large	1

Instructions:

1. Mix the water, sugar and yeast.  Set aside until suds start to appear on the surface and the water looks milky.
2. Mix in the olive oil and garlic powder.  Blend well.  Add the flour one cup at a time mixing vigorously until the dough is formed.  Then “twist and squeeze...twist and squeeze” the dough with your hand.  If it's sticky, sprinkle a little bit of flour on the dough and also scrap any on the sides of the bowl.  Once the dough is easy to work with without being sticky, fold it and press it down with your fist.  Fold it from sided to side...push with your fist....fold it from front to back....push it with your fist...repeat about 6 times.  Rinse a dish towel with hot water and ring out the excess water and cover the bowl with the dough.  Let the dough rise one (1) hour.  After 30 minutes, push it with your fist and fold it.  Cover it and let it rise the remaining 30 minutes. After the one hour, pick up the dough and work it into ball and then and log.  Break it in half.
3. Form ½ the dough into a pizza.  I put flour on the counter and roll out the dough into a circle and then roll/fold back in the edge to form the crust.  I bake the pizza on a stone now, so I spread corn meal on a stone and put the dough on the stone.
4. Spread the sauce on the dough and sprinkle the parmasan cheese over the pizza.  Now spread the mozzarella cheese over the pizza.
5. Toppings:  Wrap the onions in a paper towel and microwave on high for 1 ½ minutes.  Repeat with the mushrooms and green peppers to get some of the water out of the vegetables.  Spread the vegetables evenly over the pizza.  Add other vegetables that you like.
6. Spread the meat toppings on the pizza.  Try to keep the meat evenly spread over the whole pizza.  Recall, the dough, sauce and cheese make up five (5) of the total points.  Use the table above to determine how many extra points are being added from the meat or meat alternatives. Then divide the total points added by eight (8) to determine the total additional points per piece. If you plan to cut the pizza into four (4) pieces then you'd divide the total points from the meat or meat alternative toppings by 4 and so on.
7. Bake the pizza at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Check to see if the crust is browning and the toppings appear to be cooked.  If not, add 3-5 minutes being careful not to burn the crust.
8. Remove the pizza from the oven when it's done baking.  Melt the margarine and mix in the ½ tsp of garlic powder and brush it onto the crust, cut and serve!

                                                                                        Enjoy!

                                                                                        Shef D

Freezing Pizza Dough:  I freeze the second dough ball.  I vacuum pack it in a floured bag.  If you don't have a vacuum packer, squeeze out the air from the freezer bag you use to freeze the dough.  Move the frozen dough to the refrigerator the night before the day you make pizza.


*  Do you want this recipe emailed to you, so it is printer friendly?  Yes?  Email Shef D and request a copy of the recipe (shefd@rocketmail.com).  He'll email it to you!