Kids in the Kitchen with PizzaFebruary 23rd, 2012

Lately our family’s love of pizza has shifted to an obsession. We’ve grilled pizza (and burned it). We’ve tested bread flour versus all-purpose flour (bread flour won). Instead of discussing the day’s ins and outs at the dinner table, we endlessly discuss pizza. But of all the benefits of our obsession, the sweetest one is Little GG’s love of, well, heart pizzas. If you follow me on , you’ll know that Little GG started shaping heart pizzas for herself just before Valentine’s Day. Now we can’t get her out of the kitchen.

Which leads me to this post: if you want to get your kids into the kitchen, let them bake pies. Pizza pies!

How to Make Pizza with Kids

1. Prep the dough using this recipe, or your favorite store-bought dough. (Note: I usually only allow 2-4 hours for the first rise, and things work out just fine. See below for more details.)
2. Prep the ingredients. It’s easiest for kids if you give them choices but with guidelines: measure out the sauce into a small dish, but let them decide how much to put on their pizza. Sort ingredients including meats, veggies and cheese the same way.
3. Give your child a rolling pin and floured work surface and let them decide how to shape their pizza.
4. Prep a pizza pan with baking spray, transfer the dough to the pan, and let them dress their pizza.
5. Bake and serve!

This is our current go-to recipe, straight out of Jim Lahey’s no-knead handbook, . (I’ve already pre-ordered his pizza book, .)

Prep couldn’t be easier – toss the dry ingredients together, mix in the water and let rise for anywhere from two to four hours (my guidelines, not his). A few flops around a lightly floured work surface, another 30 minute rest, and you’re good to go. I usually make the dough around lunchtime, but I work from home. I’m guessing you could make the dough before heading out the door in the morning and leave it to rise all day – and believe me when I say that “making the dough” is really throwing a few ingredients together in a bowl, which takes all of, say, six minutes. Surely you have that much time to spare for something as obsession-worthy as pizza?