Pizza

I used to live by this fabulous little bakery where I could buy fresh homemade pizza dough inexpensively, and unfortunately since my recent move I can only seem to find those salty, cakey pizza rounds at the grocery store.  Naturally, I was ecstatic when I discovered just how simple it is to make your own pizza dough and sauce- and the recipe makes enough for 3 12-inch pizzas and stores extremely well in the freezer!  It does take some time to make though.  I make the dough and sauce well in advance and thaw it the night before I plan to use it in the fridge.

Pizza with mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basil

Pizza Dough

• 4 1/2 cups flour (bread flour works better, but all purpose works well too)
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups warm water

1. Combine 4 cups of the flour, yeast and salt in food processor.
2. Mix in oil, then water, pulsing slowly until ball forms (~30 seconds)
3. Let dough rest for 2 minutes
4. Turn onto lightly floured counter and knead by hand for about 5 minutes until it forms a smooth round ball See pizza dough kneading how-to.
5. Let dough rise for 1-1.5 hours in a lightly oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap
6. Divide dough into 3 pieces- can be used immediately or frozen for use later
1. Can be refrigerated- just let cooled dough sit on counter for 30 min before shaping into pizza
2. Can be frozen for use later.  Thaw dough the night before use and let thawed dough sit at room temp for 30 min before shaping into pizza

Pizza Sauce

Easy to make and freeze in small portions for convenience!  Waaaay less salt than commercially available versions.

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 can crushed tomatoes

1. Heat oil and garlic over low heat until garlic starts to sizzle (careful not to burn!)
2. Add tomatoes and simmer for 15-2 min, seasoning with salt and pepper

Pizza

Use any toppings you'd like!  Fresh basil added after the pizza is removed from the oven is delicious!

1. Preheat oven to 500F, adjusting rack to lower-middle position 
1. If using a pizza stone (they're amazing!! they give the pizza a really nice crisp crust) allow it to heat for 30min
2. Roll out pizza dough onto parchment paper, add desired sauce and toppings, brush crust with olive oil
3. Slide onto baking sheet to transfer to baking stone, or bake directly on baking sheet (and remove the parchment paper and sheet for the last few minutes of baking to ensure crispy crust if not using baking stone). 
4. Bake for 8-15 min, until crust edges are brown and cheese is golden.