Recipe--New and Improved Pizza Recipe

For as long as I can remember, Friday has been pizza night in our family. We take early showers and get into pajamas. Then we enjoy pizza, popcorn, raw veggies, and dessert on an old shower cloth spread on the living room floor while watching a movie together. It’s our favorite way to end the work week!

In an effort to save money—and also eat healthier pizza—we have recently switched to making homemade pizza every other week versus eating frozen pizza. I have become the official “pizza maker” of the family and have been on the search for pizza recipes. I’ve tested several, and so far, this recipe combination has been my favorite. The dough doesn’t require long rising periods and I can make the sauce and toppings in advance. That means throwing things together quickly on Friday evening!

Click here if you would like to see the original recipe (as usual, we modify things slightly to fit our tastes!)

Pizza

The crust ingredients.

2 Tablespoons yeast

1 generous pinch of sugar

2 Cups warm water

4 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

About 6 cups of flour

Some of our favorite toppings: spinach, homemade pizza sauce, parmesan cheese, bacon bits, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, and feta cheese. In the summer we love adding fresh peppers, nasturtium blooms, and herbs! *Time/Money saving tip: We buy our cheese and pepperoni in bulk and measure it into freezer bags that hold enough ingredients for one pizza. On Friday morning, I pull out the ingredients that I need.*

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast with the pinch of sugar, in the cup of warm water. In a larger bowl, measure in the oil, salt, sugar, and a cup of the flour (above photo.)

Add the dissolved yeast mixture and stir well. Add the rest of the flour (above photo.)

Knead the dough until it is soft and elastic. Let it rest for at least five minutes before shaping into a pizza crust. While you wait, you can grease the pizza pan and chop up any toppings you want to add.

Spread the dough out on your pizza pan.

If the dough is stubbornly shrinking from the edges of the pan, a rolling pin will help you spread it all the way out.

Spread on your favorite pizza sauce. Our recipe is below:

Pizza Sauce

2 Cups tomato sauce

1 6-oz can tomato paste

6 oz water

½ an onion, chopped

¼ teaspoon of basil

½ teaspoon of thyme

1 teaspoon of oregano

1 ½ teaspoons of garlic powder

½ teaspoon of rosemary

½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Mix together and store in a large canning jar. Makes enough sauce for approximately 5 large pizzas.

After you’ve added your cheese and toppings, bake for 15-20 minutes.

And voila! Here we have beautiful spinach, bacon, and feta pizza.

Or pepperoni with parmesan cheese! Add whatever toppings you like! Makes 2 large pizzas.