I made pizza tonight for supper. It is really quite easy to do. This is a recipe I have been asked about several times so I thought I would share it this week.

I’ve included two recipes for the dough. I use recipes as a guide more than an exact model. 
Notice in both recipes you start with yeast, a type of sugar such as honey or table sugar, and warm water. Let’s talk about the sugar. You need a little bit of sugar to get the yeast working. Artificial sweeteners will not work, nor will Stevia. You need sugar for the yeast to feed on and activate the bubbles. It could be molasses, raw sugar, granulated sugar, honey; it is your choice but it needs to be a type of sugar.

Dissolve the yeast in the water and sugar, then dump everything else in and mix it all up using your hands or a KitchenAid mixer. My sister uses her bread machine, then she stops it and takes the dough out. You can make extra dough, too, and put it in the freezer in a ziplock bag. Let it thaw before you use it.

In the past, I used to let the dough rise once in the bowl, punch it down and knead it again, but I don’t do that anymore. Now I let it rest in a ball in the bowl while I get out my baking dish and spread cornmeal on it (no oil). The cornmeal makes the crust brown and crispy on the bottom. Then I press out the dough and let it rise for a while while I get on with my day.

After about 2 hours or more (seriously, I never time it) I put the crust in the oven on 350F for about 10 minutes (I do time this part). Baking the crust for a few minutes before adding toppings helps it to not be gooey in the center. After the 10 minutes, take it out of oven, pour on spaghetti sauce (homemade or from a jar, it doesn’t matter) and spread it  evenly, then add the cheese. I use whatever cheese is in my fridge and I don’t measure any of it; I just do it until it looks good to me.

I cut up all sorts of vegetables; onions, peppers, olives, etc., and throw them all on, sprinkle on some Italian seasoning and bake it in a 425-450F oven for about 10 more minutes. You just have to keep checking it to make sure it is cooked to the point that you like. My family tends to like the cheese a little brown. 

Well, that’s a bit about my process when making pizza. Give it a try and tell me how it goes.