Pizza - Made from Scratch

By longhornfans

Ingredients

• DOUGH (You can start this the night before):
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup water (or other liquid – Beer is great!)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• OPTIONAL DOUGH INGREDIENTS:
• Oregano
• Black Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Parmesan Cheese
• Garlic
• Basil
• Parsley
• Onion Powder
• Rosemary
• SAUCE:
• 8 oz. can of Tomato Sauce
• OPTIONAL SAUCE INGREDIENTS:
• Oregano
• Black Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Parmesan Cheese
• Garlic
• Basil
• Parsley
• Onion Powder
• Rosemary
• TOPPINGS:
• Mozzarella Cheese
• OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:
• Italian Sausage
• Pepperoni
• Mushrooms
• Black Olives
• Tomatoes
• Onions (Chopped)
• Jalapenos
• Crushed Red Peppers
• Oregano
• Minced Garlic

Details

Adapted from thesimpledollar.com

Preparation

Step 1

MIXING DOUGH:
1. Warm up the water (or other liquid) in the microwave until it’s nice and warm to the touch – not scalding, but not room temperature, either.
2. Drop all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl. Add some additional flavor to the crust by adding in some of the optional items before you begin mixing the dough.
3. Mix until it begins to form a ball. (Use electric beaters with dough attachment - or use Break Machine, if you have one!) You want a ball of dough that’s just barely sticky, but not sticky enough to actually leave any residue on your hands. (If it’s not sticky at all, add a tablespoon of water and mix it some more. If it’s too sticky, add a tablespoon or two of flour and mix some more.)
4. Knead it with your hands. Smell it. You can add more flavorful additions into the dough right now.
5. Let dough rest. (OPTIONS: Rest in a warm dark place for an hour or so - consider resting on the stovetop with a towel over the top OR Pat some flour on the outside of the dough ball and wrap the dough in Saran Wrap with air sucked out and put it in the refrigerator - it will rise very slowly overnight and be perfect in the morning.)

PRE-BAKING PIZZA CRUST:
1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Sprinkle a healthy dose of flour all over it pizza stone, then spread the dough over the pan.
2. Toss the crust into the oven and bake it for six minutes or so. When it’s done, there will be a few bubbles – just pop them with a fork. (You can then put the crust in the refrigerator if you baked it in the morning.)

SAUCE:
1. Open up a can of tomato sauce and pour it in a bowl.
2. Start jazzing it up with optional ingredients listed above. (Use a minimum of half a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of oregano and a quarter teaspoon of black pepper.)
3. Once you’re happy with the taste, you can store the sauce in the refrigerator all day – or you can go right ahead and start assembling the pizza.

ASSEMBLY:
1. Put desired amount of sauce on pizza crust.
2. Layer desired remaining ingredients.
3. Sprinkle some oregano on top just before you toss it in the oven to bring out the flavor of the cheese.
4. Bake pizza in the oven at 400 F for about sixteen minutes, then check them to see how done they are. Depending on the amount of toppings (and whether the crust was cold to begin with), you may have to add a few minutes to the baking time.