Homemade Pizza

One of the most fun meals my family has made in a while is our own homemade pizzas. I made my own pizza dough for the first time and it was surprisingly simple. It turned out to be just as tasty as any pre-made dough I have bought.

The best part was when the kids helped mix up the dough and roll out their own pizzas. We made little individual pizzas so they could add their own toppings. This works well for us since we have one veggie lover and one cheese & sausage pizza connoisseur.

I found this recipe on a cooking blog called Anna Maria Volpi: A Passion for Cooking. 

Basic Pizza Dough

1 tbs. active dry yeast or 1 oz. brewer's yeast

1 1/2 c. warm water

3 1/2 c. flour

1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

pinch of salt

There are pictures and steps on the original website, but basically you just activate the yeast in warm water for 5 minutes, then add the yeast, olive oil and salt to the flour. Mix together, knead and form a ball. Place the ball of dough in a bowl covered with a towel in a warm place. Let the dough rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Then punch down the dough, roll it out on a flour surface, and top it with your favorite pizza toppings. I baked our pizzas for about 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven.