Pizza Pizza Pizza

In the Davis household we love pizza! In an effort to save money and also cut back on the calorie whopping greasiness of ordering out, we like to make our own. This has been a tried and true process for us, we've tried every different kind of recipe and nothing was consistent until now!

First you start with yeast.

Fleischmann's makes many types of yeast and if you can't find this specific "Pizza Crust Yeast" I would use the instant kind. If you use any other it will result in over an hour's wait for the dough to rise.

You can find these in the baking isle of your grocery store and should cost no more than $2 for a pack of 3.

To make the Dough:

1-3/4 to 2-1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 envelope yeast

1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoons salt

2/3 cup very warm water

3 tablespoons oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)

Combine 1 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add water and oil. Mix together until well blended. Gradually add 1/2 cup flour until soft dough ball is formed. May be slightly sticky. Add additional flour if needed to form dough ball.

Knead dough on a floured surface or in my case I just use the same bowl with extra flour.

Let the dough sit in bowl covered for 20 minutes to help rise.

Roll out a 12 inch surface or if you don't have a rolling pin like me I just press from the center of the dough ball out towards the edge of the pan.

The Sauce:

I personally like to make my own to control the sodium but you're welcome to use whatever you like.

1 can tomato paste 

3/4 cup water (more or less depending on preference)

Fresh basil, oregano and rosemary (Dried versions work perfectly as well!)

1 clove garlic, minced or 1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 onion minced or 1 teaspoon onion powder

Pinch of sugar

Salt to taste 

Combine ingredients in a bowl then ladle over pizza dough. {You can use plain tomatoe sauce in place of the paste and water if you like.}

Toppings:

Toppings are the best part. You get to play around with all of the ingredients you love from sun dried tomatoes to olives, mushrooms, pepperoni, peppers,canadian bacon...it's endless.

Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 min or until cheese is melted and crust is browned.

 Here is one version we made with mushrooms, fresh mozzarella and sharp cheddar.

This version was the best! We found fresh mozzarella rolled with pancetta that melted beautifully and tasted fantastic! Those versions can cost more but when we found it on sale we couldn't pass it up.

This post is dedicated to my beautiful friend Allison who helped me make pizza last fall and requested my recipe. I hope you enjoy this affordable and scrumptious one piece meal!

Bon Appetit!

xoxo .bd