PIZZA! PIZZA! PIZZA!

Years ago, I started making pizza. It's so easy and much better than anything you can buy. It takes, maybe, an hour to do a homemade pizza and the greatest portion of that time is making the crust. But, at least, it's fresh crust and not something made days before & refrigerated. It's also not a piece of cardboard commonly sold in grocery stores as 'crust'. I make my crust with a KitchenAid mixer & dough hook.

There's a lot of sayings about pizza, which is by far a food favored by many. This is another dish that is easily altered by the addition or deletion of ingredients. There's "white pizza", which has no tomato sauce. There's pepperoni pizza.  Hawaiian pizza has ham & pineapple. And the variations go on & on & on!  Here's my recipe for a basic, sausage pizza.

CRUST

2 3/4 cups of unbleached flour
1 tbs yeast
1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup warm water
2 tsp rosemary

Put all ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix until smooth. Add flour or water as needed to make a soft, smooth dough. Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and put aside to rise.  I usually coat the bowl with a bit of oil to prevent sticking.

While the dough is rising, prepare the ingredients you're going to use as toppings. Some of the toppings I use include: thinly sliced onions, 1/4" chunks of bell pepper (red or yellow), sliced pepperoni, sliced sausage, sliced salami, sliced or chopped black olives, green chilies, sliced mushrooms, and more!  

By now, your dough should be risen.

Break out your pizza pan and spread the dough to the edges. It makes a thin to medium thickness crust on a 16" pan without breaking.

Next, add your sauce. For convenience, I use a good marinara sauce from the grocer, such as Orti d'Italia.

Put your non-meat toppings on. By putting them on under the cheese, they do not get burnt or dried out by the high heat (425 F) of the oven.

Add a layer of cheese such as an Italian cheese blend by Kraft, Tillamook, Sargento...  Get the idea?

Finally, put on the meat! This particular photo is using leftover Italian sausage from the previous night's dinner. I sliced it thin to add to the pizza. Waste not; want not!

Stick it in the preheated, 425 degree oven and bake until your desired level of crispiness!  Usually, a minimum of 12-15 minutes.

Your family will be wowed!

Buon appetito!