Homemade Pepperoni Pizza
Growing up in Newark, New Jersey, we were always had a number of great pizzerias around us to order a pie from. As I got older and started dating my husband, we went to his friend’s house for “Friday Night Homemade Pizza” (sending love to Mrs. Chichello). That’s when I realized that I’ve never really had a GREAT PIE.
Homemade pizza has an entirely different taste than the commercial pies you get at the pizzerias. Don’t get me wrong, some pies are awesome and worth ordering, but I think homemade pizza is an experience and fun to make. One fond memory is of our friends coming over and making homemade pizza. The guys hung out in the living room and the girls were in the kitchen making pizza. We cranked out a number of pies that night and had flour from head to toe with lots of giggles to share.
Making pizza is not as hard as you would think. We’re going to make the dough, use canned pizza sauce and cheese to make the most delicious pie that comes right out of your own oven. I recommend you get a pizza stone and season it before you make your pizza. They may be a pricey purchase but you’ll have it forever and makes the bottom of the pizza crispy.
Let’s start cooking and having fun.
Pizza Dough
makes two 12” round crusts
4 c flour
1 package of rapid rise yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
1 1/3 c warm/hot water (85 degrees or very hot to touch)
In the mixing cup, measure the 1 1/3 c warm water and add the yeast & sugar. Let it sit for 15 mins (mixture will start to bubble and looks nasty, that’s ok you’ve activated the yeast). This will make your life easy, put the flour, garlic powder, salt in a food processor. Yes, I know right? My relatives in Italy are probably yelling, “no you have to knead the dough by hand”. Why do I need to do the work when I have a food processor? You can also use a dough hook on your Kitchen Aid or mixer. Start on lower and add the warm yeast mixture slowly, alternating with the olive oil. This will ensure that all ingredients are blended well. It will become a dough ball fast. Stop and turn out on a floured board (we’re not kneading just bringing the dough together). The dough will be sticky and you need to shape it into a ball.
Put a little oil in the bottom of a large glass bowl and add your dough ball. Cover this bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit out at room temp for at least 12 hours or until the dough proofs
(doubles in size with air bubbles visible).
Time to roll the dough out and make pizza! Preheat the oven at 425 degrees and put your pizza stone in the oven. It will be very hot when you add the pies and you want to spray it with a little olive oil spray.
You’ll need a large area that’s clean and lightly floured (take a handful and sprinkle it on the area). The dough will deflate when you touch it and will be sticky. (this is my crazy family’s favorite thing to do, punch down pizza dough) All good, no worries it’s supposed to deflate. Drop the dough in the middle of the floured surface and sprinkle a little flour on top. Flour your rolling pin and roll it out to the desired size. Transfer the dough to a pizza pan (I use round pans with air holes in them) and put the pizza in the oven (without sauce or cheese) in the oven for 10 mins. This will crisp up your bottom crust and hold up to the sauce, cheese, and topping.
Use this time to prepare your toppings. I always make pepperoni pizza and plain pizza. You can get as creative as you want since it’s your pizza and your kitchen. Another favorite in my house is BBQ chicken pizza with caramelized onions. Remove the pizza and add your canned sauce, cheese, and toppings.
I've even been known to make "half pies" - that translates to half of one topping and half of another. Pictured to the left is half BBQ chicken and half regular.
The pies need to be baked at 425 degrees for 12 mins, at which point you’re going to carefully remove them from their pan and put them directly on the pizza stone for another 8 mins. Take out of the oven and let cool for 5 mins before cutting them. (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve burned the top of my mouth because I couldn’t wait to cut and eat the pizza).
Leftover (if there’s any) should be wrapped individually and eaten cold for breakfast the next day. Sorry, lost it there for a moment but homemade pizza does that to me.
Enjoy and leave me feedback letting me know how your pie turned out or post a picture.
**MANGIA**