Pizza Pizza

Today I ran twice–once in the morning and then again later this afternoon. Running twice in one day allows me to safely add miles while minimizing injury. Instead of doing 11 miles all at once, I split it into an 8 mile run this morning and a 3 mile run this afternoon.

This morning’s run of 8 miles in 66 minutes was a good one! There were some hills on my route, but it wasn’t an intentional hill workout. I might have made it more of a hill workout, but my hamstrings and adductors were sore from lifting last night. I kept a good pace throughout and felt really good! Then this afternoon I went out for a quick 3 miles, which seemed really short!

I had been craving pizza for a couple weeks, so I declared it a pizza night. I usually use KG’s Homemade Pizza Dough recipe (which is awesome!), but I came across this recipe earlier this week and decided to give it a try.

Tonight’s pizza:

The Best Pizza Dough Ever
(makes 2 large pizzas)

• 2 packages (5 teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 5 cups bread flour (though I’ve used all-purpose flour with no problems)
• 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
• All-purpose flour and cornmeal for rolling and shaping

In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar, oil, flour and salt (in that order – salt can kill yeast so don’t put it directly on top of the yeast water) and stir with your hand or a wooden spoon until a rough ball forms. Scrape the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until soft, smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Add up to 1 cup of flour to the work surface while kneading to prevent the dough from sticking.

Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a large, lightly oiled bowl for rising. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, about 90 minutes to 2 hours. For a more flavorful crust, make the dough up to this point, punch it down, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Let the dough come to room temperature before shaping.

While this was an awesome pizza, I was not as impressed with the crust. KG’s Homemade Pizza Dough still takes top honors!

Our toppings included: arugula, fresh tomatoes, and shredded mozzarella cheese. Well deserved after two runs today!

While preparing the pizza, I made an arugula salad with glazed pecans, strawberries, and poppyseed dressing, which I forgot to photograph. I had 1.5 pieces of pizza.

And for dessert, my last Skinny Cow Mint Ice Cream Sandwhich.

Ready to hit the hay early tonight!