Pizza!!

It has been suggested by several of my followers lately that I do a post on inexpensive options for pizza.  If your family is anything like mine, pizza is a pretty big deal and you probably have it quite often too.

We rarely go out for pizzaand never order it delivered.  Right after we moved into our tiny house we dabbled with a few take and bakes, picked up a couple of pizzas from a nearby restaurant and went through a frozen pizza phase when it was on sale and coupons were plentiful making it ridiculously cheap.  Even still, we all agree the best pizza we ever eat is our own homemade.

I start with the dough.

I use my bread machine but you can totally make this in your mixer with dough hooks or even by hand.  This recipe easily makes two medium pizza crusts.

Pizza Dough

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cups whole wheat flour

2½ tsp yeast

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

1 Tbs olive oil

1¼ cups hot water

Select dough cycle.  Place dry ingredients in pan and select start.  Add oil and then water.  Once dough forms a smooth ball (you may have to add a little flour or water depending on humidity) stop machine and allow dough to rest ten minutes.  Divide dough in half and form two pizza crusts.

I like to oil my hands and smooth oil over my dough and then shape the crust.

You need some sauce.

Easy Quick Pizza Sauce

1 8 oz. cup tomato sauce

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp. dried basil

In a microwavable bowl combine ingredients and stir to thoroughly combine.  Cover bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute, stir, and repeat.  Spoon 1/4 cup of sauce onto your freshly made pizza crust.

Sprinkle with your favorite grated cheese: 

• Mozzarella
• Monterey jack
• Cheddar
• Parmesan
• Provolone
• Swiss
• Colby 

Top with your favorite toppings: 

• Crumbled cooked ground sausage, beef, pork, turkey, etc.
• Diced cooked ham or chicken
• Leftover taco meat
• Bacon bits, pepperoni slices, sliced ham or sausage, chorizo, etc. 

Don't forget the veggies: 

• Peppers
• Onions, scallions, chives
• Mushrooms
• Tomatoes
• Pineapple (I know, it’s a fruit)
• Sliced olives
• Zucchini, thinly sliced 

And bake at 450° 12 to 14 minutes until it is done and the cheese is bubbly.

Here is a tip a friend of mine found out the hard way.  Don't overload your pizza with toppings or your crust will always be soft and doughy.  Lightening it up allows the crust to bake evenly along the bottom.

As the year progresses I will be doing additional posts of the "gourmet pizzas" my family enjoys.  And you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that gourmet doesn’t mean expensive.  Quite the opposite, in fact.

Another great tip is whenever you brown meat like hamburger or sausage take out about 1/4 to 1/2 cup and put into a small container to freeze and use as a pizza topping.

Do you regularly make homemade pizza?  What is your favorite pizza?