Homemade Pizza

If there was only one food I could have for the rest of my life, it would be Pizza. That and wine. I was definitely destined to marry an Italian.

Just ask my husband. I'm always craving Pizza. Every Friday growing up was Pizza night, and I'm trying to keep that tradition going my husband.

The best Pizza I've ever had was in Italy. It is life changing.

Having Pizza in Rome

Last Friday night, I decided to try and make some homemade pizza with homemade pizza dough. We received two pizza stones for our wedding and had yet to use them. 

While I now realize I need to work on my pizza making skills (Joe's pizza got alittle mangled when I was trying to transfer it to the pizza stone), this recipe made some amazing dough, and in turn, some very yummy pizza. The recipe also includes pizza sauce, that I would suggest trying. 

If I had any advice it would be to make sure to read the recipe at least the day before making the dough. There are a few time instructions that would be good to know ahead of time.

Homemade Pizza Dough

From Annie's Eats

Makes 2 pizzas

3 cups bread flour

2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. instant yeast

1 1/3 cups ice water

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

At least 24 hours before use, combine the flour, sugar, and yeast in a stand mixer (or in a food processor, or by hand). Add the ice water with the machine running, and process until all the dry ingredients are incorporated, about 10 seconds. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Add the oil and salt, and process until the dough is smooth and clears the side of the bowl (should take about 30-60 seconds). Remove the dough and knead on a lightly oiled surface for about 1 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours up to 3 days.

About one hour before baking the pizza, place the pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, divide in half, place on a lightly oiled baking sheet, and spray the dough balls with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour.

Transfer to a well floured work surface. Flatten into an 8-inch disk, and then stretch into a 12 inch circle. Transfer to a well floured pizza peel, and stretch an additional inch. Lightly brush the outer edge with olive oil. Once you've assembled the pizza, cook for about 10-12 minutes. 

Pizza Sauce

1 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, drained

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt. 

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Blend for about 30 seconds. Refrigerate until use.

When it came to assembling the pizza, I made Joe is usual favorite, pepperoni and sausage. While it fell apart when I was trying to put it on the pizza stone, Joe still ate it all and told me he loved it. Now that's love.

pre-falling apart

I tried to recreate my favorite pizza in the U.S., the toto from Punch Pizza up in Minnesota. I spread about a 1/2 cup of the sauce on top, then covered in mozzarella cheese, goat cheese, sliced garlic, and prosciutto. Once it was cooked, I sprinkled arugula on top. While it wasn't as good as Punch's (they use a wood fire grill, which I need to put on my list of "things to get once I'm successful") it was still very yummy.