Friday Pizza night!

Its Friday night, we live in one of the best foodie cities in the country, what am I doing?  Making the best PIZZA ever in my own kitchen!  I have made this recipe too many times to count, it has never let me down, I always have the ingredients in the house, it is amazing, it is delicious, its PIZZA LOVE.  I normally make one 18 inch pizza on my pizza stone for the three of us, but, my 12 year old son has a friend over so I made 2, I am glad I did they ate a whole one just the two of them! 

I LOVE Trader Joes Pizza sauce, I have made my own, I have tried many others, this is the ONE!  If you don't have a Trader Joes in your area I recommend picking up a store brand, add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, dash of oregano and a dash of garlic...I guess I am pretty picky, I have used other brands in the past, the family could not notice the difference. 

The dough, ahhhh the elusive yeast product that it is!  The recipe I use could not be easier, I do use the dough hook attachment on my Kitchen Aide but, this is a easy hand knead recipe as well. The flecks you see in the dough are dried herbs (oregano, black pepper, rosemary),  I throw in a dash of garlic powder as well.

The finished PRODUCT!  Thats a whole lot of YUM..:)

 

Ingredients:  Makes 1 16-18 inch round crust

2 1/4 t. yeast

1t. salt

1t. sugar

2T. olive oil

1 cup warm water

2.5 cups all purpose flour

1t. oregano

1t. rosemary

1/2 t. garlic powder

 

Preheat oven to 400

Place yeast, sugar and water in large bowl, cover with towel, place in a warm location for 10 minutes.  The yeast will start to expand and bubble, this is how you know your yeast is "active". 

Add salt, olive oil, flour and spices, mix with spoon and knead for 3 minutes, return to bowl, cover with towel and let rest in a warm place 10-20 minutes.

 

Using 1 T. of olive oil, coat pan or stone evenly with oil.  Press dough onto pan/stone, use fingertips to make indentations (helps crust cook evenly).  OK, so here is where I do things a bit different!  I put the pepperoni or meats (if I am using them) on first, then shredded cheese (about two cups) then I ladle the sauce in a circular manor until I reach the center, THEN, veggies go on top of that!  I swear by this method, putting on the cheese first keeps the crust from getting soggy and a soggy crust is well, not so good!!  

 

Enjoy your yummy homemade pizza, be prepared to dazzle family and friends and bask in the glow of a well made pizza!  WINNING