Homemade Pizza!

There is nothing like homemade Pizza,  I've been making it for years.  My Mom always made us homemade Pizza, usually on Saturday nights, and she would make four big rectangle pans, and we NEVER had any leftovers!   Back then Mom bought the pizza dough, and it was really good.  I use to use store-bought pizza dough too, until about 10 years ago, when I got my Kitchen Aid Mixer, it's so easy to make all kinds of bread doughs in a Kitchen Aid Mixer, and this Pizza dough is one of the easiest!

Homemade Pizza

The Dough - for 2 Pizza Pies!
1 1/4 cups warm water (warm water, NOT HOT)
2 TBS sugar
2 Tsp. Active Dry Yeast

In a bowl add the water, then the sugar and yeast...mix with a fork and let sit for 5 minutes until it gets all foamy, this is called "Proofing the Yeast".

Yeast all foamy

To the Kitchen Aid Mixing bowl add:
4 1/2 Cups Bread Flour (I use Bread Flour, but you could use Regular too)
2 TBS oil (I use olive)
1 tsp salt
Yeast Mixture already foamy

With the Dough Hook attached, mix on low. Increase speed, and mix until all the mixture forms a ball around the dough hook, you may have to scrap the sides of the bowl down with a spatula.

Dough hook with dough around it

Now look is the dough forming a ball around the dough hook like the picture above? Or does it look like a "cake batter" in the bowl? If it looks like a batter, add 1/4 cup more flour, you want all the dough mixture to be wrapped around the dough hook, that means it's done kneading. Or, there may be extra flour on the bottom of the bowl, then you need to add a little more water. Take the dough out of the bowl, and work it a little with your hands, if sticky add some more flour to your hands. Put in a well oiled large bowl, let rise for one hour.

Dough all risen and ready to spread!

These are the tricks to bread making, if you don't have a Kitchen Aid Mixer, you can use this same method, just the OLD FASHIONED way.....knead with your HANDS!!!!

When the dough is done rising, it will double in size, punch down. Divide it into 2, and let sit for about 5 minutes, will be elastic and easy to spread. Spread each loaf onto a greased pizza pan or stone. You don't need a rolling pin, use your hands. Now it's all ready to be TOPPED!

Toppings for the Pizza - makes 2 pizza pies!

About 1 cup or more Tomato Sauce - sometimes I even use jar Tomato Sauce! Now don't faint!!!!
4 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parm cheese
Italian seasoning to taste
Garlic powder to taste

After spreading the dough onto your pizza pan or stone, top each pizza with 1/2 cup sauce (if you like more, use more), then top each with 2 cups of the shredded Mozzarella cheese, then sprinkle on the Parm cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic powder to taste. Use your imagination, do you want meatballs or pepperoni, mushrooms on your pizza? Go for it!

Bake in a preheated 450 oven. Put one pie on the top rack and the other one on the bottom rack, the top rack pizza will brown lightly on the top and melt the cheese, and the bottom rack pizza pie will brown the bottom crust, so you need to switch them around during the baking time, get a long spatula, and look at the bottom crust, is it browning to your liking? Yes, then switch them around so the top racked pizza pie bottom crust gets brown, nothing like a soggy pizza bottom crust!!!!

YUMMO!

Take out, and cut and ENJOY!