Homemade Pizza

My mother taught me to make pizza. When I was growing up, it was a tradition to have it on New Year's Eve. That was it... only once a year. (Do you hear that Robbie, Ryan and Kellen?)

Crust

1 T yeast
2-3 C warm water (depends how much pizza you want to make)
1 T sugar
1/2 t salt
1/4 C melted butter
1 egg
flour (I could give an amount here... but I have no idea... let's just say 5-6 C at least.)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add salt, sugar, butter and egg. Mix. Start adding flour - stirring to mix it in thoroughly. Turn out onto floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until dough forms. (Keep adding flour if it's sticky.)Let dough rise until it doubles in size. (Thankfully, I have a bread proofing setting on my oven. That shortens the time considerably.)

note: I plan on editing this blog the next time I make pizza. I'll add a video of the dough making process.

Divide the dough and roll into the shape of the pan/s you have. I typically make 4 cookie sheets of pizza. Place the stretched dough onto a greased cookie sheet and press into the corners.

Pizza Sauce - you've got a couple of options here. You can either make your own or buy sauce. I do both - I either use Pizza Quick or make my own using tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, oregano, and other various Italian seasonings.

Toppings - this is where the fun starts! You can throw on anything you like - pepperoni, sausage, green or black olives, mushrooms, green pepper, chopped bacon, ham, broccoli... you get the idea! Put mozzarella on top and bake in a preheated 350F oven. It will take 20-30 minutes. A good time to check is when you start to smell it. Use a spatula to lift up the crust and check for doneness. You want to make sure it's crispy.

Cut and serve! Happy New Year!