Nothing Complicated: Pizza for Any Day

Yes, you can. Yes, you. You can make your own pizza. Start with the crust. There's just five simple ingredients. It mixes together quickly. A little kneading, a little resting and then you're patting it into your pizza pans and prebaking it for a few minutes before adding your toppings. See, you can do that.

A few simple ingredients make a wonderful pizza crust.

The recipe that I'm sharing is enough for four pizza crusts. That's more than most families need for one meal so the extras can be slipped into a bag and frozen for a faster than fast food meal later. 

Pizza Crust

(for printable recipe click here)

Place 1 cup of flour, 1 tablespoon yeast and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Use bread flour if you have it, but I've used all-purpose many, many times and its fine, too. 




Add 1 1/3 cups very warm tap water and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Mix well. Add additional flour, about another 1 1/2 cups until dough forms a loose ball. Knead for 3-5 minutes. Cover and allow to rise for about an hour. Rising time is somewhat flexible. I wouldn't hesitate to use it after 15-30 minutes if I was in a hurry. 

Divide into four portions.

Place each portion on a sprayed pizza pan or cookie sheet and pat out into about a 12-inch circle. I know some people toss pizza dough or stretch it somehow, but the best way I've found to deal with pizza dough is to press it out using the flat part of my fingers. Keep trying, experience goes a long way. 

If your dough is sticky, add a little flour. If it resists stretching, let it rest for a little bit. A minute or two can make a big difference.

We had a little pizza party and everyone made their own crust. Some we topped and ate for lunch and some were taken home to be enjoyed later.

Poke those holes!

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Use a fork to poke holes all over the pizza. Bake for about 5-9 minutes until crust is set and remove from oven before it begins to brown too much. Add pizza sauce, desired toppings and shredded cheese, usually mozzarella. Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes.  Remove from oven when cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Extra prebaked pizza crusts fit perfectly into a 2 1/2 gallon freezer bag. When needed remove from bag, place on pizza pan and top as desired. No need to thaw. Bake at 425 degrees until cheese is melted.

 Pizza Sauce
(for printable recipe click here)

To make pizza sauce mix:

2 cups tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 

Simple and tasty.


Some ideas for pizza toppings:

Hawaiian Pizza-Pineapple, Ham, Green Pepper with Mozzarella Cheese.

Always a favorite: Sausage with Caramelized Onions and Anaheim Peppers.

What do you like on your pizza? I'd like to hear about it. Tell me in the comment section below.