Over a year ago — maybe it’s been even two years now — Reagan and I began a tradition of Friday night pizza night. I’m not sure why we decided to start doing it every week, but it’s become one of the things I look forward to the most with him.
He has almost the entire recipe memorized, and loves it even more now that he has his own bowl to mix it in and spoon to stir with (thanks to the Palmas, who bought him a bunch of kitchen stuff for his birthday this year). We mix the dough, and then while it rests we mix our sauce. He likes figuring out what to put in the sauce, and I try to let him do it, although I give suggestions and guidance along the way. In the beginning, he kept wanting to add cinnamon to the sauce (!), but now he knows we put in salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and a tiny pinch of season salt.
Usually, Reagan just wants cheese — lots and lots of cheese. Sometimes he wants some sliced ham on it. Sometimes he wants caramelized onions. But most times it’s just “extra, extra cheese.”
I adapted this recipe by compiling a few recipes until I found what worked for us. Enjoy!
Ingredients for crust:
1 c. warm water (115 to 125 degrees)
1 packet yeast (I usually use Rapid Rise, but regular will work too)
1 t. sugar
3 T. olive oil
1 t. salt (plus another little pinch)
3 c. flour
Directions:
Add yeast, water and sugar in the bowl, and stir well. Add the rest of the ingredients, and mix until combined (I usually finish mixing with my hands). Cover with towel, and let rest 15 minutes. (You can skip this step, or you can let it sit in the bowl longer).
Preheat oven to 450. While oven is heating, make sauce. We just use a small can of tomato sauce, and add all the ingredients listed above, but do whatever you want — or buy pre-made pizza sauce!
When oven is ready, spread crust in pan. (I use a pizza stone), and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt. We like extra-crispy, thin crusts, so I put just the crust in the oven first, for about eight or nine minutes, until it just starts to brown. Add sauce, cheese and whatever toppings you want, and bake another seven to eight minutes, until cooked through, and cheese is melty and bubbly. (Sometimes I put it under the broiler for about 30 seconds at the end, to get the cheese slightly browned on top.
That’s it! Easy homemade pizza in less than an hour. If you have your own weekly cooking traditions, I’d love to hear them!
(By the way, this is how much pizza was left at the end last week. Johnny wasn’t home, and I ate one slice. In other words, my kids really like homemade pizza.
