Great Pizza Starts At Home

Homemade pizza with homemade sauce is defintely worth the time and effort put in.  Opinions do differ on how to prepare the risen dough .  Some like to use the mashing and tossing technique, whereas others like to roll the dough.  I use the rolling pin and then cut around the edges of the dough to make a semi-round crust.  There's also the question of whether to use a pizza stone, ceramic tile, or a pizza screen.  The tile, I hear, works just as good as the pizza stone, at a fraction of the cost. Then again, somebody using the stone may want to differ. I use an aluminum pizza screen because results turn out a crispy crust without the problem of too much heat.  As far as mimicking a deck oven, I use a spritzer water bottle and spray the oven's bottom and sides prior to a 15 minute preheat, and just prior to placing into the oven.  I've made dozens of pizzas and it really does take practice to make a perfect pie.

Pizza Dough Recipe

2 cups of bread flour (13" crust)

1/2 cup of warm water(110 degrees)

1 tsp of instant yeast

1 Tbsp of oil

1 Tbsp of sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven 450 degrees for 15 minutes and spray oven

In bowl combine warm water and yeast to proof for 5 minutes

Stir in other ingrediants and hand assemble dough and knead for 10 to 15 minutes

Place in another bottom- oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap

Let dough rise in warm place for 1 1/2 hours

Press dough to release air bubbles

Roll out to wanted thickness

Sray oven and top with homemade sause, cheese, and toppings

Homemade pizza sauce recipe (marinera)

1 can (28oz) Italian plum tomatoes

5 garlic cloves sliced

1/4 cup of tomato paste

2 tsp of basil (dried)

2 Tbsp of sugar

Instructions

Place olive oil in sauce pan on medium heat add garlic and cook for 1-3 minutes (slightly browned)

Stir in the rest of the ingrediants

Bring sauce to boil

Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes