Homemade Pizza

This is the perfect dinner for us.  Everyone enjoys a good pizza, and this is the ultimate recipe.  The pizza dough is adopted from America's Test Kitchen, and the sauce is from the best home cook in the world, my mother.  The toppings vary from person to person, and that is what makes this recipe so versatile.  If you have the cash, invest in a pizza oven, it's perfectly seasoned, and makes a a great pizza.  Make the kids pizza's first, so they have time to cool by the time the adults pizza's are ready to go.  And, get the whole family involved in this.  Roll out the dough, ladle the sauce, sprinkle the cheese, make the toppings look like happy faces.

Classic Pizza Dough, recipe credit to America's Test Kitchen: The New Family Cookbook
4 1/4 cups (23 1/3 ounces) bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees)
Cornmeal (to use later)

1.  Pulse flour, yeast and salt together in food processor to combine, about 5 pulses.  With processor running add oil, then water, and process until rough ball forms, 30 to 40 seconds.  Let dough rest for 2 minutes, ten process for 30 seconds longer.  If dough is sticky, and sticks to the blades after second pulse, add more flour as needed)
2.  Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead until smooth, about 1 minute.  Shape dough into tight ball, place in large lightly oiled bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  (Bowl of dough can be refrigerated up to 16 hours, let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before using)
3.  Place in warm spot and let dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Classic Pizza Sauce
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
1 Tablespoon dried basil, or 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped fine
1 teaspoon dried oregano or 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano chopped fine
1-2 cloves garlic
salt, pepper and sugar to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 30-60 minutes.  Sauce should be thick and rich.

Pizza Assembly
Cooking With an Traditional Oven:  Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place baking sheet on rack, and heat to 500 degrees.
Cooking with a Pizza Oven:  preheat pizza oven.

1.  Line rimless baking sheets with parchment paper, or sprinkle with cornmeal.  Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and divide into as many pizzas as you'd like.  You can get 16 mini pizzas, 8 small pizzas, 4 medium or 2 large pizzas.  When our family is making dinner, we make 8 small pizzas.  Working with one piece of dough at a time, (make sure dough not being used is covered with plastic wrap), use fingertips to gently flatten into a disk, leaving one inch of outer edge slightly thicker than center.  Using hands, gently stretch dough into a pizza round.  (Size will vary based on how many pizzas you'll be making).  Transfer dough to prepared baking sheets.
2.  Lightly brush outer 1/2-inch edge of dough with olive oil.  Using a ladle spread pizza sauce evenly over dough, leaving a border.  Sprinkle cheese and any other toppings (see below) you desire.
3.  Bake in oven, or in pizza oven until edges are brown and cheese is golden, about 8-13 minutes, rotating half way through cooking time.
4.  Remove from oven, let cool, cut and enjoy.  

Toppings-Grated mozzarella Cheese, Goat Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, Smoked Gouda, Sausage, Pepperoni, Canadian Bacon, Bacon, Chicken pieces, Mushrooms, Zucchini, Onions, Tomatoes, Olives, Artichoke hearts, Basil, Spinach, Anchovies
This is the beauty of pizza, you can make it your own! If you're using mushrooms or zucchini for your pizza toppings, make sure they're lightly sauteed before being placed on the pizza.

Our Favorite combinations:
"The James"-- Extra sauce, goat cheese, fresh tomato slices and fresh basil
For the boys: red sauce and cheese
For the girl: no sauce, just cheese
For me: Red Sauce, mozzarella, sausage and black olives
Super Cheese: red sauce, mozzarella, smoked gouda, fontina, parmesan and fresh basil.
Diet Pizza: red sauce, all veggies, sprinkle of parmesan

Occasions when we've made pizza!
"Zade's Best Pizza", a fun dinner that Zade planned out all on his own, in which he was restaurant manager/waiter and I was head chef.  We had the family over, Zade made menu's, he took orders, I cooked pizza.  We had so much fun.

Easter lunch!  We shaped the pizza dough to look like eggs, and then we used the toppings to create designs to look like decorated eggs.  Delicious!

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