Homemade Pizza

Every college student loves pizza, right? This was my attitude too when I went into making my first homemade pizza. I was fortunate enough to procure a great pizza stone with built in handles (seems simply but extremely necessary). This meal is extremely simple and allows for whatever changes you'd like. It's also become so simple that it's a weekly, if not more frequent, staple in my house.

The Recipe

*Serves 2-3, feel free to expand the recipe as needed proportionately.
*Prep and cook, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup water
Flour/Cornmeal for dusting and handling of dough as needed.

I fortunately have a bread maker that also has a setting for dough. If you're fortunate enough to have this wonderful tool go at it. If not, a little more time will be required for you to knead the dough. In the dough creation process feel free to experiment. I've found adding a bit of garlic salt to the dough leaves a great extra kick to your pizza. I've also gotten bold enough to start adding Parsley and Basil to the dough for even more flavor. Only a pinch or two are necessary, but again, it's up to your individual taste when adding things to the dough. I caution less is usually more, you can always make your next batch stronger, but if it's overpowering, chances are the dough is headed to the trash.

As the dough is being prepped, be sure to heat the pizza stone in the oven. Any temperature between 375-400 degrees Fahrenheit(depending on the variance of your oven) is usually ideal for optimal baking. Once the pizza stone is at the oven temperature and the dough is prepared you can begin to add toppings to your pizza. For the sauce, anything goes. I have actually found pasta sauce to be more tasty than traditional pizza sauces, but again, this is a matter of preference. Spread enough sauce to cover the entire pizza except for the last quarter of an inch or so for the crust. Then add cheese. This is the part where you can make the pizza vegan if you feel the need and have the financial ability to buy a decent amount of vegan "cheese". Being liberal with your cheese is necessary. As it melts the cheese will take up less space than you think, and going cheap on the cheese placement will leave you with a lot of sauce in the end product. I've included a photo of a pre-cheesed pizza for you to get a good idea of the level of cheese necessary for decent coverage. Obviously whatever cheese you prefer is up to you. However, Feta simply does not melt (I've tried numerous times) and pre-shredded cheeses will save you the headache of grating cheese. I personally prefer to use mozzarella the majority of the time.



Now is the fun part. Adding any toppings your heart desires. I've had great results with caramelized onions and mushrooms. Simply heat up a frying pan, throw in a dash of olive oil and sliced onions and mushrooms and let them cook until the onion starts to brown a bit. Again, I've included a photo for your convenience.



Naturally, olives, pineapple, sun-dried tomatoes, peppers, are all great topping choices. Have you spread the toppings on however you'd like simply place the pizza back into the oven and keep an eye on it. It should take somewhere between 15 and 25 minutes to bake depending on the thickness of your dough and the amount of toppings you've placed. As a general rule I try to remove the pizza as soon as I see about 20% of the cheese browning in patches across the surface. Let the pizza sit for about 5 to 10 minutes before cutting and it'll make the cutting process significantly smoother. Check below for photos of finished products!