My Homemade Pizza!

Hello everyone! Today I'm posting about one of my favorite meals to make at home, pizza! When my sister and I were younger, my family had no problem with the frozen pizzas from the grocery store, but as we've gotten older and I found a love for cooking, we've transitioned into making it from scratch! I love making pizza at home because you can add whatever you want to it. I have a dough recipe that I like a lot, and I'll talk through a topping combination that my family likes as well.

My dough recipe is from Uncle Jerry's Kitchen, here is a link! For this super easy dough, you'll need:

• 1 package of active dry yeast (the packets I have are .25 oz)

• 2 tbsp honey (or 1 tbsp of granulated sugar, whichever one you prefer)

• 1 cup of warm water (I like to turn the faucet to hot, and it should be hot, but not too hot so that I couldn't hold my finger under the water)

• 2 1/2+ cups of all-purpose flour

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning (optional)

Start by adding the honey, dry yeast, and warm water to a medium or large bowl. Stir to combine and cover with a towel for around five minutes to let the yeast activate. When it's ready it'll be bubbly, but even if your yeast is old and doesn't bubble, it should be okay for a pizza crust.

Once your yeast is "awake", go ahead and add 2 1/2 cups of flour to start, the salt, olive oil, and Italian seasoning if you want it. Mix to combine and it should form a sticky dough. Add more flour by the tablespoon until the dough isn't sticking to the sides of the bowl. Once it's in a somewhat-together mass, I like to dump it out of the bowl and form it into a ball with my hands.

This dough doesn't need a ton of rest time, just let it sit while you gather all your toppings. Preheat your oven to 375F and let it heat up while you prep your pizza. For this pizza, I cooked some slices of turkey bacon (my family wanted to try it) and chopped some onion, red and green pepper, and Kalamata olives to go on top of the regular tomato sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. I spread the pizza dough onto a rectangular baking sheet because that's just what we use at my house. My sister isn't a fan of the supreme topping combo, so I left a section of the pizza to be plain cheese, pepperoni, and bacon for her, and put the rest of the toppings on what was left.

This is the topping combo we like, but you could go with so many different options! The sky is the limit with pizza. Stick your pie in the oven for 15 minutes to start, and then check it. If the cheese is bubbling and the crust that you can see is golden brown, your pizza is ready! If not, keep it in the oven for two or three minute intervals until it's done. Pull it out and transfer it to a cutting board and let it cool for a few minutes before slicing. Serve with whatever sides or other toppings you like and have an amazing, personalized, home-cooked pizza!

Since this dough doesn't require hours of resting/rising time, this meal can come together easily for weeknight dinners! You can tailor the toppings to your liking to make sure everyone is happy. I hope this recipe is easy to follow, if anyone tries it, please let me know! I'll sum up the recipe for my pizza below, but thanks for reading!

xx, Hannah

Homemade Pizza Dough (link)

• 1 package of active dry yeast (the packets I have are .25 oz)

• 2 tbsp honey (or 1 tbsp of granulated sugar, whichever one you prefer)

• 1 cup of warm water (I like to turn the faucet to hot, and it should be hot, but not too hot so that I couldn't hold my finger under the water)

• 2 1/2+ cups of all-purpose flour

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning (optional)

Combine your yeast, honey, and hot water in a medium or large bowl and stir to combine. Cover and let sit for five minutes to wake up the yeast. Add flour, olive oil, salt, and Italian seasoning and stir to combine. Add more flour by the tablespoon if the dough is too wet or sticky. Turn the dough out onto a surface and form into a circle and let it sit while you gather your other toppings.

My Pizza's Ingredients (substitute with anything you want!)

• Tomato sauce

• Mozzeralla cheese

• Pepperoni

• Turkey Bacon (I cooked and chopped 8 slices)

• White Onion (that's what we had on hand, it could be any color onion)

• Red bell pepper

• Green bell pepper

• Kalamata olives

Preheat your over to 375F and assemble your pizza. Bake for 15 minutes and if it isn't done, keep it baking for 2-3 minute increments until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.

Pull from oven, transfer to cutting board to cool, and then slice and serve!