Homemade Pizza

If I had $20 for every time Stan ordered late night pizza, I'd be half a millionaire by now. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE pizza too. But this guy of mine could eat it everyday of the week and be just fine. Up until a few months ago, whenever I'd make pizza at home I would buy pre-made dough from my local grocery store. It was always just okay. But then I found this dough and suddenly my homemade pizza was, "Wow!" Fresh mozzarella is also key. It really does make a difference.

Speaking of ingredients, since I started this blog I've noticed that the quality of ingredients I use really plays a large part in the overall tastiness of the ingredients. There are always some ingredients that you can get away with using a "knock-off" brand but things like cheese I recommend using the highest quality you can afford.

Homemade Pizza
(Recipe from Simply Scratch)


Crust Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 cup hot water (120-130 degrees F)
1/2 Tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 pkg. rapid rise yeast
olive oil

Pizza Sauce Ingredients:
8 oz. can of tomato sauce
pinch red pepper flakes
pinch of sugar
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano

Pizza Toppings:
prepared sauce
fresh mozzarella
pepperoni (high quality of possible)
fresh shredded cheddar cheese
fresh cooked crumbled bacon

Preheat oven to its lowest possible temperature, once preheated, turn if off and leave oven door shut.

In a two-cup liquid measuring cup add 1/2 tablespoon honey and 1 cup hot water (temperature should be between 120-130 degrees F- be careful to make it that temperature, too hot of water will kill your yeast), stir. Pour one packet of rapid rise yeast on top of the water & honey. After about 5 or 6 minutes it should be foamy.

Fill a large oven-safe bowl with hot water. Set aside.

Place flour and salt in food processor. Turn on low and slowly add yeast mixture. Process until a large ball of dough comes together. Turn out onto a floured surface, knead until no longer tacky.

Pour water out of bowl, dry completely. Drizzle a little olive oil over the kneaded dough, making sure to coat well, pour a little inside the bowl as well. Cover bowl with a warm, damp kitchen towel and place in warmed oven. Allow to rise for about 1 1/2 hours, or until it doubles in size.

Turn dough out onto a greased jelly roll pan (secret*** grease your pan with the inside of the pepperoni bag or a pepperoni itself) and spread until dough reaches all sides.

Place pizza dough back into the warm oven (re-preheat if necessary, don't forget to turn it off again) and allow to rise for a second time, about 15-20 minutes.

Remove from oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine all pizza sauce ingredients and spread all over dough. Leaving about 1/2 inch on all sides to form the crust. Add your desired ingredients. Cover with FRESH mozzarella slices (slice using your sharpest knife, making as thin of slices as you can).

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toppings start to bubble and crust begins to turn golden brown.