Homemade Pizza to End your Week: Easy Recipe #5

If you’ve never made a homemade pizza, I encourage you to try. It is easier than you might think. It’s also fun for the kids, versatile, and much cheaper and quick than placing on order for delivery tonight!

Red Star Yeast packets are one of my favorite “Smart Ingredients”. I keep these on hand at all times. Due to the vaccum-seal, the yeast is always fresh, and this brand makes a perfect dough every time. Once you have these, the remaining ingredients are basic kitchen staples… flour, olive oil, salt and water. With that, you can make a homemade pizza any night of the year using ingredients you have at home. Don’t have red sauce and Mozzarella? No problem. I encourage you to try many other toppings to create your signature homemade pizza. You saw my recipe last week for potato pizza? My family’s other favorites include Mediterranean grilled vegetables and goats cheese, Chicken Caesar Salad pizza (cook the crust with chicken and cheese on top, then add cold Caesar salad with dressing), and Barbecue Chicken Pizza (recipe on our website, and in 70 Meals, One Trip to the Store). For further inspiration, check out the pizza menu from California Pizza Kitchen.

The following recipe is for 2 – 14″ pizza crusts, or enough for 5 individual pizzas. You can use one and freeze the other, or reserve in refrigerator for 2 days. I also recommend doubling this and freezing a few for future pizza nights.

Perfect Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 1 packet (1/4 ounce) Red Star Active Dry Yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup very warm water
• 1 tablespoon oil

Mix yeast, salt and half flour together in large bowl. Add water and stir until blended. Slowly add remaining flour and knead with hands until dough forms. Rub mound with oil, cover, and let rise at least 15 minutes. Punch down dough, separate into two or five equal portions. Let sit for a few minutes. Using extra flour or cornmeal to prevent sticking, roll out dough onto baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8 minutes for a prebake (if you will be returning it to oven with toppings), or 10-12 minutes for a finished crust (to be topped with ingredients and served as-is).