Homemade Pizza

I have been making homemade pizza since 2006.  I will admit that I am still working on perfection in this area, but it has come a way over the past few years to the point where I prefer my pizza over several of the fast food chains - but then, that doesn't set a terribly high bar, does it? :)

The reason I began making pizza back when I had 2 kids was that I really loved it and used to eat it regularly growing up, but couldn't afford it. (There was no $5 Little Caesars where I lived and every other place was $10/pizza then. And we'd have needed 2 for our family then - now we would need 3 Pizzas.) That just isn't affordable for 1 meal on a regular (say, weekly) basis.

So, I thought, I wonder if I could make that homemade too (I have a fascination with trying to make things I could easily buy homemade to see if I can make it better or cheaper - or both!) So, I started researching, knowing my mom had never really found a good recipe or made it well (and therefore, must be a challenge, because everything she makes is good.)

In my researching, I found that high heat was what I needed that a home kitchen didn't have - so I got as close as I could - 550°. (My SIL says her oven works better for an extra minute at 500° Fahrenheit.) I started out hand kneading, then I got a bread machine and kitchenaid (in the same Christmas!) and rarely do it by hand now. The bread machine can only do 2 crusts and I wore out the breadpan years ago, so now, it's just me and the Kitchenaid with a dough hook.

Anyways - on to the recipe and tips - right?

Here's the recipe I currently use - I've tried many others, but they really don't have any advantage, so I revert back to this one (which has less sugar and more oil than my original).

Beth’s Homemade Pizza (Dough)

Makes 3 (12-14”) pizzas

6-7 cups flour 

2T sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp yeast (originally, I used 4 1/2 tsp - 2 "packets" - it rises faster)

3 Tbsp olive oil (originally, I used 2 T)

2 cups warm water

1 jar pizza sauce (or recipe)

Toppings

24-32 oz mozzerella cheese

In stand mixer (kitchenaid) with dough hook. Mix dry ingredients (except for 1-2 cups flour). Add liquid ingredients.  

Mix until  dough clings to hook and forms a soft ball. (Adding last 1-2 cups of flour as needed until it looks like this.) Knead 7-8 minutes. 

Separate into 3 smooth balls. (I pull the dough to the "back" of the ball so that I can pinch all the ends together and have a smooth top). Let rest/rise on counter for 45-60 minutes. 

(Or can refrigerate up to 2 days. If you cover/refrigerate balls, pull out to warm up - about 20 minutes -  before making pizza. The benefit to this is that it doesn't tear as easily when you try to toss or stretch it.)

Preheat oven to 550° (if using pizza stone, put in oven while it preheats.) Use flour or cornmeal to dust surface (where stretching or pizza peel).

Toss or stretch each ball into a circle*, place on pizza pan or peel (I like my screens the best), add sauce, toppings, and cheese. (If on peel, slide onto preheated stone in oven.) Bake for about 7 minutes. 

(These pictures were back before I knew I had to preheat my stone - makes for a crust that's too moist on the bottom - almost soggy, but not quite - any recipe under 20 minutes on a stone either won't get 'browned', which might be the goal, or needs the stone preheated.)

Note  - put toppings UNDER the cheese to keep them from burning.

Cool for about 5 minutes before trying to slice. Enjoy!

 (Hawaiian Pizza - ham and pineapple)

*Tips for stretching: The best explanation of how to toss dough is this guy:


I tend to alternate between tossing/stretching (some Friday nights fighting the dough because I ripped a hole in it and now I have to roll it or let it rest again if I want to be able to stretch it) - it helps if the dough is a little cold first.

Alternately, you can roll it out - which is what I used to do when I started - it changes the consistency or feel of the crust, but it's not too noticeable and better than dropping a pizza dough on the floor or stretching a hole in it if you're hesitant to toss/stretch. :)

Try dividing each crust into 3-4 pieces for kids' person pan pizzas for them to prep/top.

Get creative for parties, etc:

Here's the breakdown of cost (I shop mostly at Aldi and buy my yeast and cheese at Sam's club.)

Ingredient breakdown:
Flour - (up to) 8 cups - (@ $1.59/ 5 lb bag) - .71
Sugar - 2 T - (@ $2.09 / 4 lb bag) - .03
Salt - 1 t - (@ .35 / canister) - less than .01 (group with oil)
Baking Powder - 1 t - (@ .98/ box) - .02
Yeast - 4.5 t - (@ $2 / 2 lb package) - .06
Oil - 2 T - (@ 2.69/bottle) - .056 (round up - covers salt cost)
Water - 2-3 cups - (assume "free" from tap)
Pizza Sauce - 1 jar - 1.00
Mozzarella Cheese - 2 lb - (@ 10.87/ 5 lb bag) - 4.35

Total:  .71 + .03 + .02 + .06 + .06 + 1.00 + 4.35 = $6.23 for 3 basic cheese pizzas
(That's $2.08 each!)

Add a little more if you top it or if you add stuffed crust or garlic crusts, etc. (still, less than buying it made)

More Options:
Stuffed crust - roll edges of crust around pieces of string cheese and press to seal (before topping pizza and after rolling out.

Garlic crust - for a soft crust, brush with butter (my brother prefers this) or oil (my choice) after the pizza is baked, then sprinkle garlic salt around edges. You can also mix garlic salt into butter/oil and brush onto crust. (Sometimes when I want this but I'm feeling lazy, I spray it with cooking oil - I know, total cheat.)

I tried a cheesy bites crust (like Pizza Hut has), but I haven't perfected this, so I won't give a complete description, but the basic idea: Make 2-3" cuts toward the center all the way around (I can't remember how wide, but they had to go around a piece of mozzarella cheese - I think I used string cheese for this too, but I may have used cheese cut up from a block of mozzarella.) Roll/stretch each cut section a little wider, then wrap the dough around the cheese, give it a twist, sealing the cheese in. (another "I think") I think I brushed with oil and sprinkled on garlic salt before baking it, but it might have been after.
Next time I try this (more expensive and slightly aggravating option), I will try to remember to take pictures and write down better instructions. Or you can do it for me and send me an email. :)