Homemade Pizza

You guys. I have a love affair with pizza.


You know, it's funny. When pressed for a favorite food (a difficult question, to be sure), I don't think I would say pizza. But when presented with the smell of pizza, I find myself physically incapable of resisting it. It calls to me, with its savory siren song.


This pizza dough is easy to make, easy to handle, and the resulting crust is crisp yet tender. The toppings I used this time really worked well together -- red sauce, red bell pepper, shallots, marinated artichoke hearts, shredded mozzarella, and dropped spoonfuls of ricotta. I replaced half the flour with whole wheat flour, and although I usually favor fresh mozzarella (the kind sitting in water), this time switched to regular shredded, as it comes in the part-skim variety (as does ricotta). HEALTH NINJA!


Homemade pizza is the first thing I ever cooked for Adam. It was maybe our fourth date, and I invited him over for dinner. I had such a crush on him, I even used a couple of hours of (admittedly bountiful) comp time to leave work early, come home, and let the dough rise twice like you should. And he ended up proposing to me. I'm not saying these two things are correlated, but I'm not saying they're NOT correlated either...


There now. Isn't this better than takeout?



Homemade Pizza
via Giada De Laurentiis

*A note about toppings: My favorites include variations of the following: sautéed red, yellow, or orange bell peppers; sautéed shallots or sweet yellow onion; marinated artichoke hearts; flavored chicken sausage; and cheese, glorious cheese -- fresh mozzarella, regular shredded mozzarella, goat cheese, and/or ricotta. It's important to sauté your raw meat or veggies first to make sure they cook all the way through.

**A note about pans: Before this time, I used a jelly-roll style cookie sheet. Aside from making rectangular pizza, this works just fine -- although I do recommend putting it in the preheating oven to warm it up (this helps the center cook through). This time, I used my new pizza pan, which is round with lots of holes in the bottom, and I can say that the pizza turned out even better this time (cooked more evenly).


¾ cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 envelope dry active yeast
2 cups flour, plus some extra (can substitute some wheat flour; no more than half)
1 teaspoon sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus some extra
Toppings of your choice

Step 1: Pour the warm water into a measuring cup; stir in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Step 2: Brush large mixing bowl lightly with olive oil.

Step 3: Mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt in food processor. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons oil; process until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface.

Step 4: Knead dough until smooth, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 1 minute. (When the dough is smooth and no longer sticks to your hands, you're done.)

Step 5: Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm, draft-free space (e.g. a turned-off microwave or oven) until doubled in volume, about 1-1½ hours.

Step 6: Punch down dough to pop air bubbles; this results in an even texture. If you have time, let rise again, and punch down again - if not, continue. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight container in fridge.)

Step 7: Preheat oven to 475°F. Roll out dough with a floured rolling pin - if it's elastic and hard to roll, just let it rest for 5-10 minutes so the dough relaxes. Start in the center and roll outward, but not rolling over the edges.

Step 8: Spray your chosen pan lightly with cooking spray. Lay rolled-out dough in the pan. Brush lightly with olive oil before adding sauce and/or any toppings.

Step 9: Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until cheese is starting to brown.