• Category: Main Dishes
• Friday, 09 January 2009 14:00

I thought I would share this pizza recipe last week, but the pizza I made last week had sausage on it. Robert told me you can't make homemade pizza and share it with your friends with "bratwurst" on it.!  Now he knows it was Italian sausage all along. Nevertheless, today I made it with pepperoni and it was good. Emphasis on good. 

I love pizza so much and when my friend Samantha "Sam" taught me a few of her pizza tricks, I started making my own pizza. We would move from place to place and just when you thought you found the best place to eat pizza, they either closed down or it was time to move again. So I'm glad that after experimenting we have found a great pizza right here at home.

First I like to fill up my metal mixing bowl with warm water so that the bowl is nice and warm. Then I pour that water into a measuring cup to get 1 cup of warm water and dump out the rest into the sink. I pour the 1 cup back into the bowl and add the yeast. This image has the yeast mixed into the water. Once mixed go and get the flour.

Begin putting the flour, oil, sugar, salt, oregano and garlic powder on top of the yeast water mixture. I just add oregano and garlic powder until I like the way it looks, so it is up to you. I like to see flecks of green in my dough. I also think that if you don't add garlic powder to your pizza dough and sauce, it might as well not be eaten. Garlic is the key ingredient to pizza. Stir it all up into a soft dough and then put your dough hook on your mixer and turn it on low for 10 minutes. You can also knead it by hand if you want to for 10 minutes. I have tried it that way and it is fun. But my arms get really tired and I realize that I am not Super Woman after all. Not that I really think I am, of course...

All of the flour should come off the sides of the bowl and the dough should not stick to the bottom of the mixing bowl. If it does you can add flour a teaspoon at a time. If you add too much flour the dough will be tough.

Take the dough off the dough hook and place in an oiled bowl. Turn it over to coat so that it wont stick to your lid or towel when you cover it. Now it is time to wait for it to rise. I love this part, it adds that wonderful yeasty flavor that is so much a part of bread. While the dought is rising, preheat your oven to 500 degrees and put a pizza stone in there while it is still cold. If you have a metal pan, don't heat it up until right before you are going to cook the pizza.

After the dough comes to the top of the bowl and is about ready to knock off the lid, it is ready to be used.

My kids love this part. It makes them want to do it too. Punching dough is an experience that every one should get to enjoy.

In case you didn't notice, I am a very visual person. I think seeing everything in a recipe makes it so much more fun. Sprinkle a little flour on to the counter. You can also use corn meal. Turn out the dough on to the floured or corn mealed surface.

This recipe makes enough dough for two pizzas. Cut it in half with a bench scraper or knife.

Roll out the dough or pull on it. You can even try tossing it in the air. I'm not that brave. What if it fell on the floor? Isn't it crazy how little things like falling on the floor might keep us from trying something new? Now it's time to make the pizza sauce. You can make this before hand if you like.

Making pizza sauce is really easy, you don't have to buy a can of pizza sauce. All you need is a can of tomato sauce, salt, garlic powder and oregano. I always thought I had to buy a can of pizza sauce, but when I couldn't find any at the store, I was forced to make my own.

Add all of the above ingredients to your taste and stir. Make sure you put enough garlic in there...

I have to say that I'm not a very saucy pizza person. I just pour on enough to cover the surface of the dough. Oh, I almost forgot. Before you pour on the sauce, sprinkle garlic powder on top of the rolled out dough. I don't want to forget another opportunity for garlic...

Add one cup of the shredded cheese per pizza. If you like cheese, a lot of cheese, just be warned that too much cheese makes it hard for the cheese to melt at the same time that the pizza crust is done. Also, part-skim mozzarella is better for pizza than whole milk mozzarella. It melts better and tastes better.

Add a layer of pepperoni on top of the cheese and you are ready to put it in the oven. But how do we get it from the counter to the already warmed pizza stone in the oven? Well, thanks to Sam I have a handy tool that does just that. It is so cool.

This is called the Super Peel. You can get one at Super Peel and they are about $32.00.  I use mine so much that it was worth every penny. Just slide it under the crust and pull it up onto the covered peel.

And then you unload it onto the heated pizza stone in your oven. Isn't that neato? I love the super peel. Without it I would never make pizza again.

I also have a regular peel for taking it out of the oven. You can also just slide it onto a cutting board with a spatula and oven mitt. Doesn't that look good?

I love hearing from you about what you are making too. Aimee, your pizzas looked good! Thanks for sending me the pictures of your mini pizzas.

                 Karen