Easy Pizza

Have you ever wanted to make pizza from scratch but weren’t quite sure where to start? I was like that once too, but making homemade pizza is actually pretty simple. One advantage to making your own pizza over ordering delivery is you can use ingredients you pick out yourself and use ratios you prefer. I will be showing you five easy steps to making a basic pizza. Feel free to modify any steps to your preferences.

Bread flour (2 cups)

Instant yeast

Warm water (3/4 cups)

Salt (3/4 teaspoons)

Sugar (1 1/2 teaspoons)

Garlic Powder (1/4 teaspoons)

Olive oil

Marinara

Shredded mozzarella

Pepperoni

Large mixing bowl

Pastry brush

Pizza pan

Pizza cutter

For the first step will be mixing the dough. Before I do anything, I mix 1½ teaspoons of sugar in ¾ cups of lukewarm water. If the water is too hot the yeast will die. Then I mix in the packet of instant yeast. In about 10-15 minutes the mixture should start to foam, this means the yeast is active. While the yeast is activating in the large bowl mix 1 cup of bread flour, ¾ teaspoons of salt, and ¼ teaspoons of garlic powder. When the yeast is ready pour the mixture in the large mixing bowl and stir it all together well. Gradually add another cup of bread flour until the dough forms a ball and is pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Some people like to add olive oil to the dough, but this adds fat to the dough and creates unnecessary work for the yeast. Cover the mixing bowl and allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes. Take this time to preheat the oven to 425F.

Once the dough has risen for 30 minutes uncover the mixing bowl and gently handle the dough so the air can escape from inside and it will flatten back out. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop and knead it so the dough is smooth. Flatten the dough into a 10-12” circle. It does not need to be perfect. Transfer the dough to the pizza pan. Fold the edges of the dough over slightly to form the crust. Generously drizzle olive oil onto the dough and use a brush to spread it evenly over the entire pizza. Now use a fork to poke holes all over the center of the pizza. This is to prevent bubbles from forming while it is baking.

In this step we will add our toppings. The best thing about pizza is you can put just about anything on it. I will be making a basic cheese and pepperoni pizza, but feel free to add whatever you like at this point. It should be noted if raw meat is added then the baking time may need to be adjusted. Anyway, add marinara so the dough is covered, except for the crust. Now cover the marinara with the mozzarella cheese. Then add pepperoni on top.

Now put that pizza in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes the crust should be golden brown. Remove the pizza from the oven.

Let the pizza sit for 5 minutes. Then take your pizza cutter and cut the pizza into slices. Enjoy!