Homemade Pizza

I LOVE homemade pizza. It's so easy to make, way cheaper than buying it, and it's just DELICIOUS to boot! Here's my recipe!

Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water
1 packet active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 TBSP olive oil
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour

Mix warm water, yeast, and sugar together in mixing bowl. Allow yeast to "proof". (Basically, just leave it alone for approx 10-15 minutes, until the yeast gets all foamy looking and spreads out over the surface of the liquid.) Add the flour, salt and olive oil. Mix with a dough hook in a blender until dough is well mixed, or mix and knead by hand until dough is smooth and elastic. Grease a bowl with some olive oil, place dough in it, turning once to grease the top of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until doubled...I put it in my oven with the oven light on but no heat other than that. This usually takes 30-45 minutes. Punch dough down, then remove, and roll or press into pan(s) of your choice. Prick the dough all over with a fork. I use a 1/2 sheet baking tray, and this recipe makes a hand tossed type of crust. If you like thin crust, or are using a round, smaller baking tray, then feel free to divide this single recipe in half.

If I am planning on making two pizzas, which I pretty much always do, I double this recipe, and divide it in half.

Here's a picture of what the prepared dough looks like prior to baking:



After you have your dough in the pan, bake it on the lowest rack in a 450 degree oven. I like to bake my crust so that it is not totally done, just has a very light brownish color to it. You really need to just keep an eye on your dough...for my recipe, on my pan, I bake it for about 10-15 minutes. If you are using less dough, thinner dough, a smaller pan, etc, your times will vary. Cooking the dough prior to topping it will help your pizza cook evenly, and ensure you don't have any sort of uncooked crust. (YUCK!)

Pull your crust out, and top it with some pizza sauce. (Our favorite is Hunt's Pizza Sauce.) Sprinkle as much cheese as you would like on top of the Pizza Sauce. Use any type of cheese you like...we generally use mozzarella and cheddar, or a Mexican Blend for our pizzas. Top with anything you would like. Us...we're all about the pepperoni. (Although I now use Turkey pepperoni instead of the real stuff!) This particular pizza I baked has the turkey pepperoni, black olives, and green peppers, Other popular toppings around here are double cheese, ham and pineapple, pepperoni and bacon, hamburger, bacon, mushroom and green pepper, etc. Go crazy! Put on whatever you like! Put your creation back in the oven, and bake until your cheese is melty and bubbly, and your crust is fully cooked. If you like crispy cheese on top of your pizza, feel free to broil the pizza for a minute or two at the end. WATCH IT CLOSELY. No one likes burnt pizza!



Remove from oven and enjoy!