Homemade Pizza [Recipe]

There’s nothing quite as cozy as homemade pizza and a movie night. The best part about this homemade pizza is that it is EASY and it makes enough for 2 pizzas! I cook up half the dough and freeze the other half for another day when the pizza craving strikes.

INGREDIENTS

4 tsp active dry yeast

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 Tablespoons honey
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

(Optional) 1/2 C shredded gouda cheese

(Optional) 1 tsp rosemary

DIRECTIONS

Pour 1 1/2 cups warm water into a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast and wait until small foam bubbles start to appear. This takes a few minutes, so be patient!

Whisk sugar, oil, and salt into yeast mixture. Add flour and mix until it is too tough to mix with a mixer or a whisk. At that point, I knead my dough by hand until it is nice and soft. Be careful not to over mix it. I find that I sometimes have to add a bit more flour, depending on the weather. Just get the dough to where it is flexible but not sticky.

Cover bowl with a dish towel and let it rise for about an hour. If your kitchen is cold, it will take longer. My apartment is pretty drafty, so I sometimes I preheat my oven while my dough is in a bowl on top of the range, so that it has a bit of a warmer climate to rise.

Preheat oven to 400˚ while dough is rising

After your dough is about doubled in size, punch the dough back down and split into two segments. Roll one segment of your dough out onto a cast iron pizza stone. The warm cast iron makes the crust nice and crispy! I roll my dough out so that it is hanging a bit over the edge, when I can then sprinkle some parmesan cheese around the perimeter and fold over the crust for a stuffed crust. It is a delicious extra touch, fyi.

Prepare a butter spread by microwaving 1-2 T butter in a small cup until melted. Then add in about a teaspoon of Italian seasoning or fresh herbs if available. With a pastry brush, spread the butter mixture onto the pizza dough. Then cook the crust (without toppings) for 10 minutes.

Add desired toppings, and bake again for 10 minutes. Serve warm

Tip #1: I sometimes put another coat of the butter spread on the crust to make it nice and flakey. Optional, but delicious.

Tip #2: If you leave the pizza on the cast iron pizza stone for about 5 minutes after pulling it out of the oven, the bottom of the pizza gets nice and crispy.

I freeze my other segment of bread dough in a ziplock bag until we are ready for another pizza night. It will last for about 3 months in the freezer. The next time you want homemade pizza, take the bag out of the freezer in the morning and place in the refrigerator. When dinner time rolls around, place the thawed dough in a bowl and let rise until doubled in size. Easy peasy!

As a side note, we love to get creative with the types of pizzas we bake. We’ve made a delicious mac + cheese pizza, a southwest corn/bean dip pizza . . . the possibilities are endless! Feel free to share any scrumptious pizza creations you make in the comments below!

This recipe was adapted from a Martha Stewart Recipe. However, I tweek it a bit more every time I make it! Just get creative!