sort of a rerun ~ our favorite pizza ~

I've posted this on the other blog before, but I wanted to put it here too - and I was in a picture takin mood, lol...

I have discovered that I like it a bit better if I bake the crust for about 5-7 minutes before adding the sauce and toppings. I was kind of rushed so I didn't do it this time, but that's my preferred way, so it's gonna be included in the instructions.

Pizza Crust

2 1/2 cups flour

(you can use all-purpose or substitute whole wheat flour

for 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the total flour)

1 teaspoon salt

herbs and spices of your choice

(typically, I use a palm full of dried parsley,

and a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic)

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

3 tablespoons olive oil

2/3 cup hot water

(if the dough seems dry after mixing,

add more water one tablespoon at a time

until it's holding together right)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all this stuff together in a big ol' mixer. This doubles really well for 2 pizzas, if your mixer can handle it like the Kitchenaid can. In the meantime, put your pizza stone(s) in the oven for 5 minutes or so to heat up.

(It's a good thing to already have your toppings prepared, btw)

When the dough has kneaded for a while, take it out of the mixing bowl and put it on the hot pizza stone, dividing if you're making 2. Mash it evenly to the edges with your hands, and leave a little bit of a raised edge. Bake it in the oven for about 5 minutes, maybe 8. You don't have to do this but I think it's better.

Now time for the toppings. First, the topsecret recipe for the sauce. Don't tell ANYONE.

LOL

Next, add your toppings. I was "chatting" with my friend Lee and he said 'less is more' when it comes to ingredients on homemade pizza, and I totally agree. Even so, I have 4 veggies on half of this pizza, all of them sliced thin and left raw: spinach, squash, tomatoes, and onion. Don't go overboard with any of them or they will release too much water and make your crust soggy. And that's also a good reason to prebake your crust for a little while.

Then the cheese, and pop that baby in the oven for 25 minutes. The cheese may brown a bit but hey, that's even better, lol. I always like browned cheese.

Let the finished pizza sit for about 5 minutes so the sauce and cheese won't just run everywhere.