How to Make Pizza

Pizza. It is one of the most loved foods on the planet. Who doesn't love the cheese, the sauce, and the crust of a hot delicious pizza? There is no need to spend money at Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Papa John's, or your local pizza shop, when you can make your own pizza at home. With the right ingredients, you can create a delicious homemade pizza to rave to your friends about.

The Ingredients

Here are the basic ingredients for any pizza:

• dough
• tomato/pizza sauce/paste
• mozzarella cheese

There are two ways to take care of your dough needs. There are many store-bought packages of ready-made pizza dough in your grocer's freezer isle. If you want to save yourself time, grab one or two of these from the store. Another quick and easy option is to buy bagels, hard rolls, biscuits or Italian bread for mini-pizzas. There are also boxes of bread mix that you can use, such as herbs and cheese bread that can easily be prepared and made into a crust.

If you would like to take a healthier approach, you can use a box of wheat or whole grain bread dough as your crust. Just prepare as directed, and then shape it flat and round before baking. There are also some brands that provide ready-made wheat or whole grain crust.

If you are determined to make a your pizza dough from scratch, you will need:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (about 100° Fahrenheit or 40° Celsius)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour or all purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

The rest of the ingredients are up to you. Depending on which topping you like to have, your ingredients could be pepperoni, Italian sausage (sweet or hot), black olives, ham, bacon, cheddar cheese, grilled chicken, meatballs, vegetables, mushrooms, bell peppers, anchovies, or whatever you like. The possibilities are endless!

Preparation

Preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit or 180° Celsius. Grease a large cookie sheet or oven tray. (You can spray it with olive oil or line it with wax paper as a different non-stick option)

If you have a store bought frozen dough, prepare it as directed. (If you have a ball of dough rather than a ready-made crust, you will need to thaw it and roll it out with a rolling pin, or punch it down and spread it out with your fists.)

Here are the preparation instructions for homemade dough:

• In a mixing bowl, combine dry active yeast to water, salt, sugar, and oil. Stir.
• Slowly add the flour to the yeast mixture, stirring it in well.
• On a lightly floured, flat surface, knead the dough for about five minutes, or until smooth.
• Place the ball of dough onto the greased cookie sheet and shape it into a pizza crust.

Now that your dough is ready, it is time for the toppings. First, using a spoon or ladle, spread the sauce on the dough starting in the center. Be sure to leave an inch or so around the edge to make grabbing and eating easier. Try not to add too much sauce, because the melted cheese will slide right off of the pizza otherwise (unless you like it when that happens!)

Second, add enough cheese to almost cover the sauce. If you like to have extra cheese, try adding it after the other toppings have been placed.

Next, place any extra toppings you would like. Try to spread the toppings evenly so that each slice has a decent amount of each topping. If you have toppings that only some people in your party will like, you can top half of the pizza with what you like, and the other half with what they like.

Sprinkle the top with a small amount of extra cheese. (optional)

Baking

Remember that your oven should be at 350° Fahrenheit (180° Celsius). You may want to turn it down to 325°F (160°C) for the baking. Depending on how efficient your oven is baking time will take 15 to 30 minutes.

Check on your pizza after 10 minutes to make sure that it is not cooking to rapidly. You will want the dough to cook completely, and you will not want the cheese to burn. When the pizza is done, it will have a nice golden brown crust, and the cheese will be melted nicely. Use your judgment, and don't let it burn!

Take care when removing it from the oven, and try not to burn yourself.

Time to eat

It is best to use a pizza cutter to divide the pizza into slices right away, while the pizza is nice and hot. You can serve immediately, with a heat warning, or allow a minute or two for it to drop to a comfortable eating temperature.

Serve with napkins, and enjoy.