Mini Pizza Recipe: the perfect picky eater meal

Mini Pizza Ingredients

4 cups flour
1 packet of dry yeast
1.5 cups warm water
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. salt
toppings of your choice

Directions:

Using standing mixer (using dough hook attachment):

Mix flour and salt in mixing bowl. In a separate bowl or measuring cup add dry yeast to warm water and stir well until dissolved. Add water with yeast to flour mixture slowly, add in olive oil, then remaining water with mixer on low speed. Continue to add a little flour and water as needed until the ingredients have come together to make a nice smooth dough (not too wet, sticky or dry). You may have to raise the mixing arm and adjust the dough a few times to get it to knead the dough well. This all takes less than 5 min. On a clean floured surface knead your dough into a ball and place into a floured bowl and wrap the bowl with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm place.

Without a mixer:

The process is the same as above but rather than using the mixing bowl, place the flour on a clean surface and made a well in the middle. Add ingredients slowly and use your hands to work them into a smooth dough.

Tip: Use "fast rising yeast" if you want to make the pizza in the next 3 hours. Wrap the bowl in a fleece blanket to keep it warm. You will know your dough is ready when it has risen to fill the bowl and has formed bubbles.

Rolling out the dough:

Use a lightly floured surface and don't over work the dough. Roll gently and use your hands to stretch the dough to the desired shape and size. A very light coating of vegetable shortening will help you stretch the dough in the pan to make it as thin as you like. For Pizzalettes cut out little circles, or hearts or squares.

Preheat oven to 450F. Cover with various toppings. Pizzalettes will take 5-10 min. to cook. Leave them a bit longer to make pizza crackers, which are also pretty good!

Suggested Toppings

Here is where the beauty of pizzalettes lies. Since they are so non-commitally small and cute, young children are really likely to eat anything that you put on them. Here are some of our Yumbox suggestions:

Non-Traditional Toppings: goat cheese with honey, gorgonzola cheese with walnuts, grilled chicken with bbq sauce and corn, anchovies with onions, smoked salmon with capers, feta cheese with herbs...and pretty much anything that you can find in your fridge!

Traditional Toppings: ham chiffonade, mozzarella cheese, gruyere cheese, olives, red pepper slices, mushrooms, pepperoni slices...well, really, whatever your child likes.