Pizza

I've posted pieces of this process before, but we had pizza tonight and I thought I'd post the whole process in one place--both for ease of reference and because we've updated the process.

So, Home Made Pizza, from scratch. It's a 3-part process.

First, the crust. Start this at least 2 hours before dinner.

Put 2 c hot (120 degrees or so) water in a mixer. Add 2 eggs, 2 handfuls of sugar (about 1/3 c), 2 tsp salt, 1/4 c oil (optional, we discovered tonight when we forgot it). Add 1 Tbsp of yeast. Let sit 10 minutes. When the yeast is dissolved and foamy, add 4 SERIOUSLY heaping cups of flour--as heaping as you can get them. Let the mixer do the work--mix for 5 minutes or more, until the dough is smooth and satiny. Cover and let raise for a long time in a warm place (I often turn the oven on to about 100 degrees, let it heat up, and then turn it off and put the bowl of dough in there). Leave it at least 2 hours. Punch it down when it starts going over the top of the bowl (about every half hour or 45 minutes). (This recipe also makes incredible bread, scones, and donuts.)


Second, the sauce. 

Put 4 small cans (or 2 big cans) of tomato sauce (about 30-32 oz) in a pot. Add 2 tbsp minced dried onion, 4 tsp Italian seasoning (I use the kind that costs $0.50 at WalMart), 2 tsp dried oregano, 2 tsp dried basil, 4 tsp sugar, garlic to taste (I use 1 tsp or so, but I just shake it in until it looks right), salt to taste (I shake in about 1/2 tsp), pepper to taste (I shake in about 1/4-1/2 tsp), and four pinches of red pepper flakes (optional). Stir well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15-20 minutes. Taste it before you use it and adjust the seasonings.

Finally, assembly.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Keep them covered when you aren't actually working on them. Work with one piece of dough at a time. Roll, pinch, press, pat, and stretch it until it is about 16 inches across in a circle or square. I roll it on the counter until it is about 12 inches across, then I put it into a greased pizza pan or cookie sheet (no cornmeal!) and stretch it gently and press it with my finger tips until it fills the pan completely. Cover with sauce (I splotch on 5-6 large spoonfuls and then smooth it around. Use about 1/5 of the total sauce for each pizza).  Sprinkle with cheese (we prefer a mixture of mozarella and medium cheddar, sprinkled with parmesan at the end). Top with your favorite toppings (we like ham, pepperoni, pineapple, mushrooms, olives). Let raise uncovered for 10-20 minutes (the longer it raises, the thicker your crust will be--technically, this is optional, but the crust comes out really thin if you don't let the pizza raise) while you start on the next pizza. Bake at 350 for 13-14 minutes, until the crust is just golden and the cheese is just starting to bubble. As soon as you take it out of the oven, remove the pizza from the pan. Let it cool on a cooling rack (this is REALLY important--if you don't, the crust ends up soggy.)

Enjoy!

2 1/2 to 3 of these feed my family of 8 (but the kids are mostly small still!).