Dining In: Homemade Pizza

My better half loves Pizza. So this weekend I attempted to make homemade pizza from a recipe I found over at Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen.



To make the homemade crust, place 3/4 cup of lukewarm water in a small bowl and sprinkle in 1 package of dry yeast.  Let that sit for 15 minutes until you see foam formed on the top.

Now combine 1 cup of flour and 1/2 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp garlic salt.  In your yeast bowl add 1/4 cup of olive oil, then pour it over your flour mixture.  Mix it together slowly.

Gradually add in a second cup of flour.  Now find a flat surface (counter top or cutting board) and cover it with flour.  Place the dough ball on your floured surface and get ready to knead.  While needing add in a third cup of flour.  Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. I only lasted 7 minutes because I have wimpy arms, but if you're strong just keep kneading!

Coat a large bowl with vegetable oil and place the kneaded dough ball into it.  Cover and let it sit in a warm place for about 45 minutes.

After that the dough should have doubled in size and if you a poke a hole in it with your finger the indention should stay.  Now you're ready to make homemade pizza.

Now you can roll out the dough into a nice flat pizza pie.  This recipe claims it makes 2 crusts, but I was only able to mangle out one.

For a nice buttery/garlic tasting dough, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and mix in 1/2 tsp of parsley + 1/2 tsp garlic salt.  Brush this mixture all over the crust. Alright, so maybe I used a little bit more than 1 tbsp...

Now the fun part. Add your favorite sauce (I used a jar of Ragu Pizza Sauce we had in the cupboard) and all your toppings.  We are a divided household when it comes to pizza.

Pop that pizza pie into a 375F oven for about 20-25 minutes when the crust is hard and the cheese is gooey.

Mamma Mia,

Ingredients:
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 pkg dry yeast (7g)
1/8 tsp sugar
3 cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable oil
pizza toppings

Instructions:
Place luke warm water in small bowl and sprinkle in yeast and sugar.  Set aside 10-15 mins.
In another bowl combine 1 cup of flour and salt/garlic salt.
Add the olive oil to the yeast mixture and pour into bowl of flour.
While stirring, gradually add a second cup of flour.
When no longer sticky, put on floured surface and knead in the rest of the flour (about 10 minutes)
Coat a large bowl with the vegetable oil and place dough inside.  Cover and place in warm area for 45 minutes. Test for readiness, poke dough and if impression remains it is ready.
Roll out pizza crust and create your own homemade pizza.
Bake 375 for 20-25 minutes.