make a homemade pizza

I’ve done this a few times and it’s pretty cool. You can add as much sauce and cheese and toppings as you want, you can experiment and play with the dough, and you can eat it. I did it one of my birthday parties a few years ago and it was a big hit. So yea, do it. It’s yummy

we do this monthly sometimes we use the dough from Trader Joe’s garlic is very yummy an grilling the pizza is good too… great activitiy for a youth party, church group etc. This is one of our favorite things and my neices always ask to come to Auntie Leslie’s and make there own pizza.. Great memories and yummy too..Fun family night.

This last Sunday. We decided we wanted pizza. So instead of going out and eating pizza we decided to make our own :)

Our first pizza was a veggie one… lots and lots of veggies : tomatoes, green peppers, red peppers, mushrooms, onions, ... then ham, sausage, and lots of cheese :)

2nd Pizza included half Pineapple, ham, and cheese…. and half… pineapple, ham, peppers, mushrooms and cheese :)

It was really good… except for the crust :(

From my own dough to the sauce and toppings.

I learned at age 16 working in an italian kitchen making bar pies. Also from my adopted grandmother who was right off the boat from Italy.

and the one where i fell in love with basil and oregano

Even if they get the crust right, what about the sauce? It’s better and cheaper just to do it yourself. And you feel good about it too. Invite some friends over, make some damn pizza.

they’re sooooo good!

~aimee

this is probably my sixth time at making pizza entirely homemade. It’s also been my best time of making it, too. I don’t mean to sound conceited, but it is better than any thick crust pizza out there in the restaurants to me. I have been told by some family members that I was better than a national pizza chain’s pizza in the past. Tonight everyone liked it, too.

It’s extra effort, but it’s worth every bit of it.

.5 cup chopped onion
.5 cup chopped bell pepper
1 lb Italian sausage
2 oz pepperoni
Parmesan cheese (or even better the parmesan/romano/asagio blend)
2 cups shredded mozzerella cheese

• Preparation includes browning the sausage and cooking the bell pepper in with the cooking meat. At the end add the onion and cook for about a minute or so. Drain fat completely and set aside.

Assembling the pizza

• Roll out crust on a lightly floured surface into a 12 inch round crust and place on baking sheet or stone.
• Cover one crust with half of the sauce. Then put half of the pepperoni in a single layer. Then cover with half of the sausage/vegetable mixture. Sprinkle thin layer of parmesan cheese evenly over entire pizza. Then top with half of the mozzerella cheese.
• Place into preheated oven at 450 degrees F.
• If you’re using a pizza stone place it on the top rack of oven and bake for 13 to 20 minutes. If you’re using a metal pan place on bottom rack of oven and bake for 10 to 13 minutes. Times will be relative to your oven, though…so make sure they’re browned on bottom and top to your preference.

4 cups all purpose flour
gluten powder
1 package rapid-rise active dry yeast
.5 teaspoon salt
1.5 cups very warm water (120-130 degrees F)
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil

• Make high gluten flour by adding enough gluten powder to the flour by the directions on box. (Mine is 1 teaspoon per cup)
• In a medium bowl, combine 3 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt.
• Stir in the very warm water, honey and olive oil. (Hint do the oil first and then the honey and the honey will glide off the spoon.) stirring until the mixture begins to leave the sides of the bowl.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather it into a ball. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, unitl it is soft, smooth, and elastic, adding enough of the remaining flour to keep the dough from sticking.
• Place the dough in a large greased bowl and turn to coat evenly. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a clean damp kitchen towel and palce on the lowest oven rack. Turn the oven onto the lowest setting for 1 minute, then immediately turn the oven off. Let the dough rise for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• Punch the dough down. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough ten times to release the air bubbles.
• Cut the dough in half and shape each piece into a ball.
• Cover the dough and let it rest while preparing pizza toppings.

Almost word for word with slight adaptations based on what I do from Patricia Cornwell and Marlene Brown’s Food to Die For. Published by G.P. Putman’s Sons in New York. Copyright date 2001. pages 29-31.