Weekend Dinner--Homemade Pizza

I think I've found the biggest problem with making homemade food--everyone loves it.  "What?  That's not a problem," you say.  The problem is that my husband likes my homemade foods too much-- he never wants to go out.  If I suggest we try out a new restaurant, he replies, "Why?  You're food is better anyway."  It's very flattering, but sometimes making everything homemade is exhausting.  This recipe is great because pizza is simple to make, so it's one of my go-to dinners for Friday nights.  

I usually make two large pizza, and we eat the leftovers on Saturday.  For two 16" pizzas with medium/thick crust, I triple the recipe below.


What you need  For one thick-crust 12" pizza:

• 1 cup lukewarm water 
• 2 1/4 tsp (1 pkg) active dry yeast
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbs oil
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 tsp cornmeal 
• Pizza sauce
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups cheese
• toppings--we like pepperoni, mushrooms, and bell peppers

Let's get cooking:
1.  Stir the sugar and yeast into the lukewarm water.  (The water should be the same temperature as your finger if you dip it in).  Let the yeast mixture sit 5 minutes until foaming.   It should start to look like the pic below.  Then add the oil.

2.  Measure 2 cups of flour in a medium mixing bowl.  Add the yeast mixture and stir until combined.  Work in additional flour, using your fingers if it gets too stiff to use a fork.  The dough should not be too sticky or too crumbly.  You may not need all the flour, so add a little at a time.

3.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead about 50 times by hand.  The dough should be fairly smooth and elastic.  Form into a ball and place it into a clean mixing bowl.  Cover with a towel and let it rise until doubled.  (This usually takes about 30-60 minutes, depending on how warm my kitchen is.)

3.  While I'm waiting for my crust to rise, I prep the rest of my pizza.  I wash and chop the veggies, grate cheese, etc.  By the time I've finished all that, my crust is done rising.

4.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Sprinkle your pizza pan with cornmeal.  On a floured surface, roll out your pizza dough, then place it on the pizza pan.  Bake without toppings 8-10 minutes.

6.  Add sauce, toppings, and cheese, then bake 9-11 minutes until cheese is turning golden.

  Mmm, time to eat!
     -Lily

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