Pizza

I don't know why I like making homemade pizza. It's easier just to order it. But, homemade pizza sounded good, so homemade pizza it is.

Ingredients (enough for one large pizza)

Crust

1/2 Tablespoon yeast (or 1/2 packet)

1/2 cup warm (not boiling) water

1 tsp sugar

2 1/2 to 3 cups flour

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons salt

1-2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Sauce

1 can tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

1/2 onion, diced

2 tsp red pesto sauce

oregano

basil

sea salt

1-2 teaspoons sugar

1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

Pizza toppings: mozzarella cheese, etc.

Cornmeal for the pizza pan (optional)

The crust will take the longest. In a bowl, combine the sugar, yeast and warm water and let stand for about 10 minutes. Gradually mix in the other ingredients. I added the flour and extra milk as needed until a soft dough formed. Let the dough rise until double in size, about an hour. As always, my kitchen is too cold for yeast to do its job, so the dough went on the radiator in the living room.

While the dough is rising, start on the sauce. Heat the oil in a sauce pan, chop the onion and add to the pan. Saute for a few minutes then add the garlic and salt. Add the other ingredients and simmer for about 20 minutes. (I had a few fresh tomatoes on hand and added them to the sauce. Fresh tomatoes tend to have more liquid than canned so I had to simmer a bit longer.) Puree the sauce and add additional spices to taste.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the crust has doubled in size, get the pizza pan ready. I only have a jelly roll pan, so that had to do. Grease the pan with olive oil and sprinkle on cornmeal. (The cornmeal is a nice touch, adds additional texture to the dough and helps prevent the dough from sticking, but optional. Cornmeal is kind of hard to find in these parts and sometimes goes by the name of "Cornflour" which, confusingly enough, is also what cornstarch is called.)

In an ideal world, roll the dough out to make it thin and uniform. If you're lazy like me, use your hands to work the dough so it covers the pizza pan. Build up the edges and use a fork to pierce the dough to prevent it from rising too much.

Bake the crust for 10-12 minutes.

Remove the crust from the oven, spoon on the sauce and smooth it over the crust, leaving a small bit for the edges.

Sprinkle with cheese and your favorite toppings. We opted for cheese and basil.



Bake the pizza for another 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is hot and bubbly.

Remove the pizza from the oven, cut and serve.