Recipe: Pizza

Since I've been in Canada, I've had the opportunity to cook from scratch more often.  A big part of this has been to see if I could make healthier and cheaper food items.  Plus, I've also had a lot of time on my hands to make meals from scratch.  I've pretty much enjoyed this.

Anyway, I thought it was about time for me to share one of my favorite pizza dough recipes with the world.  I first learned this recipe from another gal when we were volunteering at an after school activity.  This pizza dough recipe is really wonderful because it can be whipped up in 25 minutes or so, or you can take your time with it (15 hrs!).

Dough-
Ingredients:
1 packet yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 Tbsp honey or brown sugar
3 cups of flour, plus extra for rolling out dough
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt

In a bowl, combine yeast, water, and honey (sugar), and leave it to sit for five minutes to twelve hours.  Now, as this yeast mixture is sitting, I like to start preparing the toppings of the pizza.  For a while, I used lunch meat (I know this sounds weird, but it actually isn't too bad) such as ham, and I've been cutting it up into small pieces for the topping, but when I moved to Canada, I was inspired.  I tried bacon on my pizza.  You might be thinking, "Why didn't you use pepperoni?", but honestly I just don't like the pepperoni you buy from the store.  So, I fried up a few slices of bacon for this pizza, and I cut it up into small pieces for the pizza.  So, if you are going to try bacon on pizza, I recommend doing it after you've created your yeast mixture for the dough.  At this point, go back and add the dry ingredients to the yeast mixture, and allow the dough to sit for 20 minutes to 3 hours.  I then work on the sauce. Really, your taste buds will determine the flavor you want, so add as little or as much seasoning you want.

Sauce-
Ingredients:
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
Italian seasoning
salt
8 oz can of tomato paste
14 oz can of diced tomatoes
oil or butter

So, remember that bacon?  Well, here is a good use for that bacon grease.  Now, you can wipe up some of the grease because there is a lot in the pan, but use it.  It adds flavor the sauce, and honestly, what's the point of wasting it all?  Add grated garlic to greased pan, and saute it for a few minutes.  Then stir in tomato paste and diced tomatoes.  Add seasonings, and allow the tomato sauce to thicken.  Cook for five or so minutes on medium heat.  At this point, you can prepare the rest of your toppings for the pizza, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. I like use mozzarella cheese, add bacon (of course),pineapple, onion, mushrooms, and green bell peppers to mine.  Roll out your dough onto a pizza stone, and add sauce, cheese and toppings.  Cook your pizza for 20 minutes or so (check the edges/bottom of the crust to see if it's lightly brown), and voila!  Delicious food made from scratch.

Side view. My favorite pizza now!

Aerial view. Delicious!