In Praise of Pizza

(I wrote this for our Mom's Group newsletter)

We love pizza at our house & we eat it several times a month. We get Papa John’s take out occasionally and sometimes I’ll buy a frozen cheese one and top it myself, but most of the pizza we eat in my house is homemade. Pizza is EASY. Really easy. I wouldn’t make it otherwise. It will take you about 15 minutes work to make the dough the first time you do it, but once you get used to the process it will take less than 10. Most of the time involved is spent waiting for it to rise & while you are waiting you can read a book, play with the kids, whatever you want.

Pizza is a great use for leftovers, especially chicken and steak. It is incredibly versatile. You can use the leftover seasoned beef from tacos and mexi cheese mix to top the dough and have taco pizza. You can spread the dough with BBQ sauce, top with cheddar and leftover shredded baked chicken for BBQ pizza, you can layer fresh sliced peaches on it, sprinkle with some cinnamon & sugar and have dessert pizza, and you can use tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni for traditional pizza. Our house favorite uses pesto sauce (mixed with a little alfredo sauce & chopped cooked frozen spinach ), baked chopped chicken, diced pepperoni, chopped artichokes (canned) and mozzarella cheese. Only your pantry limits you.

I know you are thinking “I could have Papa John’s here in less time than it takes for the dough to finish rising.” Yes you can. But you have far more control and freedom with homemade pizza. You can determine the fat & calories by controlling the amount & variety of cheese. You can add additional fiber & protein to the crust by varying the type of flour; you can add herbs and spices. You can make several individual pizzas instead of one 15 inch one and let everyone top their own, no more wondering, “Which half has the onions?” Homemade pizza is cheaper too.

The dough can also be sprinkled with a little garlic & rosemary, drizzled with a little olive oil and baked for 15 minutes for focaccia. It can be formed into small balls, baked for 10-12 minutes for dinner rolls. You can roll it out really thin, sprinkle it with kosher salt, bake it for 10 minutes and have homemade crackers. The possibilities of a ball of pizza dough are nearly endless!


Standard Pizza Dough

1 packet of yeast or 2 ¼ teaspoons
¾ cup warm water – a little warmer than body temperature
2 to 2 ¼ cups of white flour – you can substitute ¼ cup with wheat germ or up to ½ cup with whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar.
Large greased bowl
Non-insulated baking pan or pizza stone

1. Stir water, yeast & sugar together & let sit for a few minutes until it looks a bit bubbly
2. Stir this mixture slowly into 2 cups of flour. It will get sticky fast & you’ll end up using your hands. A mixer with a dough hook makes this easier. You may not need the extra ¼ cup of flour unless the mix seems very sticky. Turn it out on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth (fold the dough in half, push it forward and flat with the base of your hand, turn it 90 degrees and repeat). This will take 5-7 minutes. If you have a mixer with a dough hook, let it to the kneading for about 5 minutes, then dump the dough out and knead it about 10 times yourself.
3. Place the dough in the greased bowl and let rise until it appears about 25% larger & if you poke it the indentation remains.
4. Preheat the oven to 500, place baking stone in the oven to preheat if using.
5. Using your hands or a rolling pin, flatten the dough out, on a floured surface, into a circle or square about 12 inches wide. Place on baking sheet or on the preheated baking stone (I find using 2 spatulas, or another edgeless baking pan helps if you don’t own a pizza peel)
6. Bake the crust for 8 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and add your sauce & favorite toppings. Return to oven and bake for another 8 minutes.

A time saving tip is to make a double or triple batch of dough and freeze the extra in individual freezer bags after the rise period. It will keep for a month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator & let come to room temperature (about a half hour) and then proceed with baking.

Add a little additional flavor to the dough by kneading in up to 2 tablespoons of dried rosemary, basil or Parmesan cheese.