Recipe of the Week!

Homemade Pizza

I really love homemade pizza. It's so much better than ordering pizza. And it ties with going out for good pizza. My homemade pizza has evolved over the years. I used to buy Wegmans' pizza dough and make my own sauce, then add toppings. Now I mostly make my own dough (HUGE difference, HUGE), buy the sauce, and add toppings. I buy the sauce because I am in love with Don Pepino Pizza Sauce. I still occasionally make the sauce. Making the dough instead of buying it really makes the pizza taste better - the texture of the crust is so much better - and its like way, way easier to roll out. I use to hate rolling out that Wegmans dough. Our favorite toppings are turkey pepperoni, portobello mushrooms, and onions on one pizza, and pineapple and bacon on another. We do switch it up quite a bit. One other key move is placing the toppings between the sauce and dough. In my book it's a must. 

For the pizza dough:

3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups water, 110 degrees F
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Combine the bread flour, sugar, yeast and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. While the mixer is running, add the water and 2 tablespoons of the oil and beat until the dough forms into a ball. If the dough is sticky, add additional flour until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is too dry, add additional water. Gently knead into a smooth, firm ball.

Cover the bowl with a towel and put it in a warm area to let it double in size, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Roll into crust.