Pizza Time!

Hello & Hello Again!

Every so often on KWL we take a break. Please, take however long you were going to spend reading this week’s blog & relax instead. Drink some water, breathe a little, relax your jaw, & try this awesome #recipe.

This week’s blog is written by KWL’s very first guest blogger! This is my favorite pizza recipe, from my favorite pizza chef. Introducing the sweet pepper to my red onion, the mutant turtle to my samurai rabbit, self-certified Pizza Expert: Wolfe3D!

Watercolor & ink painting of a man with curly brown hair & a beard smiling as he leans out from behind a computer monitor. There is a Superman action figure on his desk & a Super Star on his monitor. Certified Pizza Expert

Wolfe3D, developer of free PICO-8 awesomeness & frequent contributor to PICO-View! Pronouns: He/him Profession: Visual Effects Artist/Teacher Hobbies: Music, cooking, retro gaming Where to find me: Reddit, Discord, BBS, or Mastodon.

I’m working on a free Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan game called Shredder’s Prevenge for Pico-8, which should work on your phone or computer. It’s a great way to learn coding and have fun! I hope to make games based on original ideas some day, but for now this is a way to build experience and learn the tools and systems I need to make those games. It’s a side-scrolling beat-em-up like most TMNT games, but with a few unique touches including an interactive arcade and a vs. mode.

One of the things I love the most about PICO-8 is the community. Whether it be in the subreddit, the Discords, or on Mastodon, everyone involved in the PICO-8 scene tends to be friendly, welcoming to newcomers, and generous with their knowledge and skills. Thanks to all of you for helping me to learn, and to teach.

To Pizza!

This recipe makes 4 pizzas’ worth of dough. If you get this dough going on a Sunday night you won't have to worry about dinner until next Friday! You can bake it on a cookie sheet, we used a 12 inch round pizza pan.

Ingredients: * 4 cups AP flour * 1 tablespoon active dry yeast * 4 tablespoons of sugar * 1 teaspoon of salt * ⅓ teaspoons of baking soda * 1 cup of warm water * 2-3 cups of room temperature or cold water * Olive oil * Semolina flour * Low moisture mozzarella OR sharp cheddar & Monterey jack cheese * Pizza toppings

Kitchen counter is crowded with a mixing bowl & ingredients, such as salt. flour, & baking soda.

Step 1: Add yeast to warm water and allow 4-5 minutes to activate.

Step 2: Set aside 1 cup of flour. It will be used in step 5.

Step 3: Combine the other dry ingredients, and a drizzle of olive oil in a large bowl. Mixing bowl full of pizza dough ingredients, ready to be mixed.

Step 4: Add warm, yeasty water to the bowl and combine. Add cold water until flour is absorbed and a sticky dough forms. Mixing bowl full of very sticky dough.

Step 5: Add 4th cup of flour to bowl and mix until flour is absorbed and dough can be touched without sticking to your hands. Mixing bowl full of dough that is no longer sticky to touch.

Step 6: Form dough into a ball, cover with cloth and allow to rise.

Step 7: After the dough has risen (approximately 1 hour), cut into 4 separate pieces and place each into a greased bowl 2 pictures side-by-side. Pic 1 is a mixing bowl with a small ball of dough in it. Pic 2 is the mixing bowl with a larger ball of dough in it.

Step 8: Cover any dough you want to store with plastic wrap and put into the refrigerator at least overnight. Allow at least 3-4 hours of rising time if you want to eat it today.

Step 9: Preheat oven to 475°F (246°c)

Step 10: Grease the baking pan and liberally sprinkle semolina flour. A round baking pan with semolina flour dusted across it.

Step 11: Stretch dough carefully into a disc and place on a baking sheet. A round baking pan with a raw pizza crust on it.

Step 12: Add sauces, cheeses, toppings, etc. 2 pictures side-by-side. Pic 1 is Raw pizza dough on a round pan with a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce in the center. Pic 2 is Raw pizza dough on a round pan with a tomato sauce spread across the dough.

Step 13: Focus topping placement towards the center of the pizza; toppings will drift towards the crust as it bakes. We like chicken or veggie sausage with mushroom, onions, or peppers. 2 pictures side-by-side. Pic 1 is an uncooked cheese pizza. Pic 2 is an uncooked pizza with sliced sausage & mushrooms on it.

Step 14: Bake at 475 for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

Step 15: Add spices and extras such as parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, oregano, or garlic salt. 2 pictures side-by-side. Pic 1 is a close up of the pizza. Pic 2 is slices of the pizza on a blue plate.

Step 16: Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Hope you like the pizza, folks. Stay radical! -Wolfe3D

We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled art blog next week. If you want another awesome recipe, here is my favorite vegan cake recipe. It’s so good, people don’t believe it’s vegan! If you make either of these recipes, share pics with me on Mastodon! See you next week.

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