This homemade pizza recipe is very, very dangerous.  It's so easy, and so delicious, that I'm temped to make it WAY too often.  And it's *so* easy.  Even my two year old thinks it's great fun to make pizza!

We have this at least once a week, on our Friday Family Night.  Fridays are the day we clean house, put away all the school stuff, and veg out in front of a movie. 

I am grounded from picking out movies from Redbox.  It's a self-inflicted grounding, for the good of all involved.

They stock some really, really, really lame kids movies.  Sorry kids.
Oh...the pizza.  Right.  OK. 

I've made a lot of different homemade pizza recipes.  I've hauled out the food processor, preheated for 20 minutes...I've tossed crusts into the air.  But no need for all the fuss and pretense here.  This is just flat out the best pizza crust I've ever made, and it couldn't be simpler.

Start with this easy bread recipe.  It's the bomb.
(I'm pretty sure I'm too old to say that.)

You can mix up a fresh batch now, if you don't already have one going in the fridge.  Four ingredients, stirred up, and let it rise for 2 hours.  Then you can leave it in the fridge for, like, two weeks.  But you won't because it's SO good you'll use it up way faster.  This stuff is totally addictive.  A whole recipe yields two large pizza crusts.  Here is the batch that I keep going in my fridge at all times:


Now, as soon as your two hour rise is up, you can go ahead and use the dough. 
If you're serious about making good pizza at home, then I strongly recommend getting a pizza peel and a baking stone.

Like the ones in my new
Amazon Store! 
<announcer voice>
Thaaaaaat's right folks!
Check out the new button at the top right...we can window shop together online for kitchen gadgets!  My favorite!

OK...sorry.  I'm particularly ADD tonight.
Back to business. 

As I was saying, you don't *have* to have them, but a pizza stone makes a great crispy 'brick oven' style crust.
Also, you'll need a sheet of parchment paper approximately the size of your pizza peel.

Hang with me...we're gonna have hot pizza in our hands in less than 25 minutes! 
Put your baking stone into the oven and preheat to 500 degrees.
If you're new to baking stones, there is something you need to know.  They're supposed to be ugly and stained up looking.  For real...I'm not just saying that because mine is.  The other thing you need to know is to never ever put frozen food onto a heated baking stone. 


Put your parchment paper onto your pizza peel. half of the pizza dough recipe, and plop it onto the paper.  This is an unusual dough...it's pretty wet and sticky, but just go with it.  You can get your hands a little damp to keep the dough from sticking.  Smear/spread/press it out on your parchment paper.  My helper is especially gifted at the smash & schmear technique.
I think I usually get a 14 or 15  inch round out it.  I like to leave the edges a little thicker than the middle because I like the crust to be sort of like a fluffy breadstick. 

One of the great things about this dough is that it's no big deal if you get it too thin or make a hole in the dough. 
Just schmear more over the spot, and you're good to go.  I love that.  Most pizza dough recipes that I've tried in the past are not self-healing like this.



Kosher salt and the divine Greek Seasoning schprinkle.

extra yum.

Now, this step is important!  Sprinkle your crust with a few pinches of kosher or coarse ground salt, and add some seasonings of your choice.  I highly recommend the Greek Salad Dressing spice mix.  You can go just around the edges with this, or go over the whole crust to boost the flavor.


Slide the whole piece of paper  with the crust on it into the oven and onto the pizza stone. 
(If you don't have a stone, then just spread the pizza onto a cookie sheet or pizza pan, and slide it in.)
Set the time for 10 minutes, and gather your toppings.

Our old standby is turkey pepperoni and cheese. 
Today, though, we're just going to go for a simple garlic cheese pizza.

You'll want about 2 cups of cheese, and your favorite toppings.

Now, the crust won't be pretty, but it'll beat the pants off those old Blob-oli shrink-wrapped, cardboard tasting $6.99 crusts at the grocery store.  And I think this crust costs something like .50 to make.

When your timer goes off, take the pizza out, and top with

sauce...

garlic...

and cheese.  And whatever else you want on your pizza.
My favorite cheese spreading tip is to dump the whole amount into a mountain in the center,

and then swirl it out to the edges.

I like to add a layer of shredded Parmesan on top and around the crust.  It adds another dimension of flavor: nutty brown and toasty.

Slide this beauty, paper and all back into your 500 degree oven.
Yes, *now* you can lick your fingers.
<whisking helper out of the kitchen>

Bake for 10 to 15 more minutes until it's brown and bubbly. 
Sometimes, I turn on the broiler to toast the cheese a bit. 

Heavenly.

The crust is crisp on the outside, flavorful, and tender and fluffy on the inside. 

The words "authentic" and "home country" have been wafted across the table in moments of pizza induced bliss.  We only *wish* it was our home country. :) 


The crust is now my favorite part of the pizza...it's like a breadstick!


Having pizza once a week makes meal planning that much simpler for me, and I am not hearing any complaints from the troops. 


Except for the comments on my movie selections. 
Seriously...what's wrong with Earnest Goes to Camp?

Next time, we'll talk baked potato pizza or focaccia. 

<kissing fingers>
Caio bella!