Pizza Recipe...Revealed!

Pizza is on the menu once again this Friday.  We usually make our own because after asking our chief economists to do an in depth cost analysis... 

...we've concluded that we can make three or four pizzas for the cost of a single "take out" pizza.   We also like to be creatively spontaneous with the toppings.

Here's what we do...

Crust:
Makes 1 large or two medium pizzas.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup hot water
pinch of salt
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon sugar

(I use my bread machine on the pizza cycle, you can also use the dough cycle and let it run only half way through, or you can use good ol' fashioned elbow grease.)

Begin with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add one cup of very hot (the hottest your tap will allow) water.  To the water add a generous pinch of salt.  Add 3 cups of flour and make a well in the top of it.  Add 2 1/2 teaspoons of yeast and a teaspoon of sugar.  Start machine. 

{If you are not using a bread machine, begin with the 3 cups of flour, add the yeast and sugar and salt.  Stir and then make a well in the middle and add the oil and the hot water.  Stir until dough forms, knead for a few minutes and set dough in a bowl, cover it and set it in a warm area for about 30 minutes.} 

My bread machine's pizza cycle is 50 minutes, which is long enough to get the sauce bubbling and the toppings assembled.

To make the sauce:

12 oz. can (or 2- 6 oz cans) tomato paste
2 cups of water
1 clove of garlic (or 1/2 teasp. minced garlic) 
2 teaspoons basil
3 tablespoons parsley flakes
salt to taste
sugar to taste

Combine all in sauce pan and simmer for a few minutes.  Take a taste and adjust ingredients to your liking. This sauce freezes very well.  I put it in freezer baggies and microwave it when I'm ready to use it.

Assemble and prep your desired toppings.  Some of our favorites are sausage, black olives, pepperoni, and lots of cheese, of course.  Some of us also like green onions and maybe an avocado or two.  Some of us don't.

Now, back to the crust...
I like to knead it a few times after removing it from the bread machine (you can pop it into a freezer baggie and into the freezer at this point if you like), and then go after it with the rolling pin.  If it is stubborn and too elastic, let it rest for a few minutes and roll it again.  Once you achieve the desired shape, place the crust on the pan and then, if you're feeling very adventurous...

...break out the string cheese. 

Cut it in half length-wise and roll it in the crust, sealing the crust completely around the cheese. 

Whether or not you add cheese to the crust, you'll want to brush it with some olive oil to help it brown nicely. (I usually forget this step until after I get the sauce or the topping on.  You can do it that way, but it's harder, with dodging the sauce or the cheese and pepperoni and olives and all.

Ladle the sauce onto the crust.  Don't oversauce, that'll make the pizza soggy.  The sauce recipe will easily cover two large pizzas with some left over for crust-dipping purposes.

Add the cheese next and then the rest of your toppings. 

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.  Begin watching after 15 minutes and remove when the cheese looks like you want it to.

Enjoy the pizza, which is healthier, cheaper, and delivers a much greater sense of satisfaction than the Domino's guy!