Pizza Pizza

Who needs delivery when you can make pizza at home!

This is one of the tried and true recipes that is a staple in our household thanks to my wonderful Mother-In-Law. Though, we have tweaked her original recipe a bit to suit our taste. I love this recipe because you can make it any way you like. Usually I just see what is in the frig and say, "Hey lets throw some of this [insert random ingredient here] on the pizza tonight"and sure enough, it works!

Ingredients:

- 1 package or 1 tbs dry yeast

- 1 cup warm water

- 1 tsp. sugar

- 1/2 tsp. salt

- 2 tbs. vegetable oil

- 1 cup whole wheat flour

- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

- Cornmeal (optional)

- Shredded mozzarella cheese (or really any cheese you want; type and amount is up to you)

- About a cup of tomato sauce (I like marinara for this recipe)

- Toppings <- get creative!

Note: you can make this a white pizza dough if you prefer using all white flour but the whole wheat is really delicious and worth a try!

Directions: 

- Preheat oven to 425 degrees

- Dissolve the yeast in warm water

- Add remaining ingredients to yeast/water combo and beat vigorously

Note: I use a KitchenAid with the dough hook attachment and it works wonders! Just mix until the dough pulls away from the sides forming one ball and you are done.

- Allow dough to rise while you prep your toppings (about 15-30 mins, for a thicker dough allow the full 30 mins)

- Spray pizza stone with cooking spray and dust with cornmeal (optional) 

Note: I use a pizza stone, but you can substitute a large baking sheet just don't skip the cooking spray - you will thank me later!

- With floured fingers, start to stretch dough gently and spread onto stone

- Add sauce, cheese, and desired toppings

- Bake for 15-20 mins and Enjoy!

This past weekend we decided to double the recipe and make two different pizzas: pepperoni and a vege with green peppers, red onion, and tomatoes.

This is the before shot

And here is the after.. golden brown and delish!

We have made many many types of pizza using this same dough recipe. Buffalo chicken, pesto and fresh mozz, margarita,... the possiblities are endless. This is also a great recipe to get the family involved. You can even section off the dough to make individual pizzas and everyone can add their own toppings! 

Happy Cooking!

JP