DIY Easy Pizza
This pizza recipe has been used a lot in my family over the years. It's very fast and easy to do so I thought that I should share it. Hope you enjoy!
Supplies
For the dough you need
- 2 1/2 cups of flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1Tb sugar
- 1 Tb yeast
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 Tb olive oil
For the sauce
- A 15 oz can of tomato sauce
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 Tb Italian seasoning
- 1 Tb parmesan cheese
Other things
- 2 cups mozzarella or other cheese
- Other toppings (Pepperoni, mushrooms, onions etc.)
- Cornmeal or flower for coating pizza stone
- Pizza stone
- Measuring tools
- Mixing bowl
Dough
This recipe makes enough for one 14 inch pizza stone.
Combine flour, salt, sugar, yeast, olive oil, and water into a mixing bowl and mix until the dough is elastic feeling. I usually let the dough mix for 3 to 4 minutes so that it can knead a little.
You can leave the dough to rest if you have time but it's fine if you don't leave it to rise. I usually let the dough rise for about 2 hours.
Usually the yeast, sugar and water are combined together and left to sit in a process called yeast proofing. I chose not to do this because I am gearing this recipe to people who might not have a long time to wait for this process to happen. If you have hot enough water then just the time spent mixing is enough time to activate the yeast.
Sauce
This recipe for sauce makes enough for 2 pizzas or you could use the rest of the sauce for dipping.
Combine tomato sauce, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, sugar and parmesan cheese into a container and mix thoroughly. Make sure that you taste it so you can add more seasonings if you want.
The tomato sauce that I buy is a little on the thin side so I add cheese to the sauce to thicken it a little. I also feel like it gives the sauce a little something extra. Another thing that you could add is maybe a teaspoon or two of tomato paste. Tomato paste is a very fast and easy way to thicken up any sauce but I can't find it in a convent size in my area.
Preparing the Pizza
Set your pizza stone out on a counter space. If you don't have a pizza stone then a greased cookie sheet works too. Sprinkle cornmeal (or flour if you don't have any) evenly across the surface. Now take your dough and it should be risen if you chose to do that. Use any method you want to get the pizza into the shape you want. I used a greased rolling pin but I have seen people just use their hands. What ever works for you.
Cheese and Toppings
Spread sauce over the rolled out dough. The sauce recipe makes enough for 2 pizzas so only use around half depending how heavy you want the sauce. Spread the cheese on top of the sauce. I usually use around 2 cups of cheese. 2 cup bags are usually sold at stores so it works out perfectly. For other toppings I just chose to use pepperoni but you can put anything you want on it. Other meats like chicken or bacon. Vegetables like onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and zucchini. Or even more cheese!
Mozzarella cheese is the most common pizza cheese but many other types can be used. Provolone is another good cheese. I like to use a mix of mozzarella, provolone, cheddar and parmesan. I find that this mixture has a good taste but you can try different things until you find what you really like.
In the past I have prepared mushrooms by cooking them in garlic oil and adding salt to taste. It was a huge hit with my family. I would recommend cooking what ever vegetables you are going to add in garlic oil and adding salt. It is delicious.
Cooking
Cook the pizza at 450°F on convection for 18 to 20 minutes. I place my pizzas on the bottom rack of the oven so that the bottom gets very crispy. Let cool for a little bit and serve.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading! I hope that this recipe helps you a lot. This is a very versatile recipe and can be used for a lot of other things. I have made several different kinds of pizzas with this dough recipe. My favorite one was a barbecue chicken pizza where I replaced the sauce with barbecue sauce and put chicken, onions,and bacon on top. Once again thanks for reading and I would appreciate if you voted for this Instructable in the Speed Pizza Challenge. This recipe can be started and then put in the oven in about 30 minutes if you are pressed for time. Good luck cooking!