Homemade Pizza

I think pizza is pretty much everyones favorite food, or it's at least at the top of your list! But eating out, ordering in, and frozen pizzas can be pricey, and it's not always great quality pizza. The best thing you can do is learn to make your own pizza crust! It's easy to do, and it's not nearly as time consuming as you may think. You make it with ingredients you more than likely have in your house anyways, you can chose your own toppings, you know that they are good quality, and it's always fun for kids to top their own pizza! If you're making your own crust, you can make personal pizzas, you can make shapes, you can make a thicker crust, or a super thin crust. Once you know the recipe you will see how simple it is to tailor it to your liking. I like to make it part whole wheat, and I also like to throw in some oat bran for texture. In our house, our favorite toppings are onion, olives, marinated artichoke hearts and turkey pepperoni. Our favorite sauce is Newman's Own Marinara. The following is a basic recipe that has been used in my family for a long time. However when my grandma makes it, it is very different than my mom's, and mine is different from both of theirs, but they are all great!

Pizza Crust:

about 2 1/2 cups flour (can use some whole wheat flour)

2 1/2 tsp. yeast

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup warm water

2 Tbs. olive oil

Combine 1 cup of the flour with the yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add the water and olive oil and stir until smooth. Gradually add the remaining flour until the dough is workable. Knead it briefly, you can do this right in the bowl. Cover with a towel and let it rise for about 30 minutes. In the meantime you can prep your pizza toppings (chop olives, peppers, onions, etc.) Punch down the dough, roll out onto a lightly floured surface. Work dough until it is the shape of your pizza pan (you can use a cookie sheet or whatever you have). Transfer the dough onto a cornmeal dusted pan. Let rest for about 15 minutes. Bake crust for about 8-10 minutes (depends on the size) in a 425 degree oven. Check it occasionally, it may form bubbles that you can just poke with a fork. Let the crust cool slightly before topping with sauce, cheese, and toppings. Once topped, bake for 15-25 minutes (again depending on size, and how brown you like your crust) until edges are golden brown and cheese is melted.