Homemade Pizza Night

Friday night is pizza night at our house. We've found that pizza from scratch isn't that difficult and tastes way better. Try for yourself and see!

To make two 14" pizzas, measure 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. I've made with all white flour and it's fine. Stir in 1 Tbs dry yeast and a small handful of flaxseed meal.

Measure 1 cup of milk (if you like making cheese, this is an excellent use for whey), and 2 Tbs olive oil. Microwave the milk or whey for 1 minute, add the olive oil to the milk then pour it into the dry mix and stir until combined.

Once the dough is combined, spoon it out onto a well floured surface. I do it right on my pizza peel. Knead for 5 minutes working a little flour in if necessary. After five minutes you should have less stress and a nice ball of dough (win-win). Place it in a floured bowl, cover with a clean towel and put in a warm spot for 30-60 minutes. The warm milk makes it rise pretty fast.

After rising, drag a knife through the middle to divide the dough in half. Flour the pizza peel and roll out half the dough. I roll for a bit then pick it up, add flour to the peel and roll a little more. You do not want the dough to stick to the peel. Start heating your oven to 425F with your baking surface in there. It's very important to heat your pizza stone with the oven. I've had stones and tiles, I currently use a cast iron pizza pan made by Lodge and love it.

At this point it's up to you. The pics show tomato pizza sauce, mozzarella, ham and pineapple. We've done all sorts of pizza toppings. I especially like browsing through leftovers and improvising. Baking time depends on how crispy you like it, I just keep checking until it looks done. In a pinch the whole process can be complete in an hour or less. If you have time, it's great fun to have the kids pitch in and put their own toppings on. We've entertained friends by having toppings out like a buffet and people make personal pizzas. This dough works for grilled pizza also. Enjoy. If you make this crust, let me know how you like it.