Requirements:

Pizza Party – Try-it and badges

Daisies complete 3 Try-it complete 3 Junior Badge complete 4 C/S/A 6 or more

Pizza is one of the most popular dishes around the world. It is generally a flat round bread which is oven-baked and covered with tomatoes or a tomato-based sauce and mozzarella cheese. Toppings are also added depending on the region, culture or personal preference.

1. Pizza dough

Dough making has been known to humans for ages. Use prepared pizza dough out of a can, box or freezer section and learn how to roll it out and shape it for your round pizza OR prepare hand-made dough. [see below recipe]

2. Pizza sauce

Choose a pizza sauce that made for pizza or a tomato sauce only which is lightly herbed with oregano and basil. Spread it on your pizza evenly in the center and moving out making sure you don’t touch the sides.

3. Toppings

Make a list of toppings that go on a pizza. What topping would you like on your pizza? Start with shredded mozzarella cheese and top with other items like pepperoni, mushrooms, etc. Preheat and bake your pizza in the oven according to the directions on the package.

4. Have a pizza party and order pizza from a local company. Vote and choose your toppings for the pizza. Share with others.

5. Take a tour of a pizza shop and learn how pizzas are made.

6. Learn about careers in pizza making, baking, or owning your own business.

7. Watch a someone make a pizza in a restaurant or place that makes pizza.

8. Learn more about a country that serves pizza or similar foods. Do they call it pizza or something different? How is it different? Some countries have food created on flatbread that originated from the pizza idea.

9. Pizza used to be sold at outside bakeries until the 1860’s then it was sold in pizzerias. Create an early version of pizza or a pizza Margherita or taste bread dipped in olive oil. First pizza: tomato sauce with oregano, basil, tomato, and olive oil. Pizza Margherita, in honor of the Queen: a pizza flat bread garnished with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil.

10. Make a dessert pizza or cookie pizza by rolling out sugar cookie dough and having each person place an item on the pizza like chocolate candies, coconut, nuts, and a variety of toppings. Cut and serve.

11. Fruity Pizza. Make a dough out of sugar cookie dough and add sliced fruit after it is cooled. [see recipe below]

12. Make a small pizza on baguette bread, premade dough, or English muffin. Add sauce and toppings bake in the oven until cheese melts. About 5 minutes.

13. Pizza was first sold in the United States in 1904. People could not afford an entire pizza so they started selling it by the slice. The cost for one whole pizza was about 5 cents. How much is a pizza today?

14. Pizza was only available in restaurants in the United States until the early 1940’s pizza delivery service companies opened and started offering varieties of dough, toppings, and styles of pizza. View different pizza types online or on brochures. Have a taste test of two different pizzas. Which one did you like best?

Ingredients for pizza dough:

1 - 1/4 Oz Envelope - Active dry yeast, (or 2 1/4 Tsp)
1 1/2 Cups - Warm water (110°F - 115°F)
4 Cups - Bread flour
1 1/2 Tsp. - Salt
2 Tbsp. - Extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. - Sugar Extra flour
Extra olive oil

Process

Pour the warm water in a large mixing bowl, then add the sugar and dissolve it. Next, dissolve the yeast by stirring continuously after addition. Allow the mixture to settle down for 10 minutes or extra so that the yeast becomes active.

Now add the yeast and olive oil, when the appearance of the mixture becomes foamy and cloudy at the surface. Dissolve it continuous stirring. Then add 3 cups of flour to the mixture one-by-one and whisk in until dissolved completely. Make sure the mixture is completely smooth. Use your hands to combine the dough until all of the dry flour has moistened into a mass.

When the flour has absorbed all of the moisture and congealed into a firm mass, remove it from the bowl to a floured tabletop to knead it. Fold it in half again and push it into itself, again and again for perhaps 10 to 12 minutes or so, or about 200 cycles. It is very important that the dough is very well kneaded.

After kneading is complete, when dough transforms into a silky, smoothly-textured ball, coat the dough ball with a thin layer of olive oil. After that place it in the bottom of a large mixing bowl that has also been coated on the inside with olive oil.

Now comes the step on panning the prepared pizza dough. One of the most demanding of the pizza maker's many challenges is getting the raw pizza dough ball into a pizza pan. The panning of pizza can be done by various methods as per your convenience.

Homemade sauce:

3 Tbsp. - Butter
16 Oz. - Can of tomato puree
3 Tbsp. - Olive Oil
1 Tsp. - Salt
3 Cloves - Garlic, minced
1/4 Tsp. - Black Pepper
3 Large - Yellow onions, minced
1 Tsp. - Whole oregano
2 Qts. - Canned whole Italian tomatoes
1 Tsp. - Whole basil

Process

Melt the butter with olive oil in an oven or large skillet. Now slowly but completely sauté the garlic and onion. Then add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and puree. Boil it.

Cover the mixture and let it bubble for two hours. In between, stir it occasionally. Crush the tomatoes with the masher. Continue the process till the sauce reaches the consistency of a soup.

Set the sauce aside to cool before applying it to your pizza dough, or, or refrigerate it for use in the future.

Fruity Pizza

1 (18 ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough

1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1/2 cup sliced banana

1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries

1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup seedless grapes, halved

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Press cookie dough evenly into a 12 inch pizza pan. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack.

3. Spread whipped topping over cooled crust. Arrange fruit in a decorative pattern. Refrigerate until ready to serve.