Homemade Pizza

We don't go out for pizza, we rarely order in. We are casein allergic and lactose intolerant and we avoided pizza until now. (Plus, my kids actually hated it.)

We make our own crust and sauce. It has quickly become our weekly fare, often requested by my two year old.

My oldest daughter helps prepare the dough and once it rises she gets to help roll it out and add toppings. She has even resorted to asking Daddy to replace her sandwich with a slice of cold pizza. She loves to tell her friends and her teacher that she made her own pizza.

Herbed Dough

5 cups all-purpose flour, add more if needed
2 envelopes rapid rise yeast
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups very warm water (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 - 1 teaspoon each fresh, chopped sage, rosemary, and/or oregano (optional)
1 teaspoon minced garlic (optional)

Cornmeal for baking.

Add the first 7 ingredients in order and mix with wooden spoon or clean hands. Once mixed and smooth, coat inside of large bowl with olive oil. Roll dough in bowl so all sides are covered in olive oil. Place bowl in warm area, not in refrigerator, and cover with a towel. Let dough rise until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. Once doubled, punch the dough and separate it into two pieces.

Flour the work surface and roll out one of the pieces of dough. Use additional flour as needed so that dough is not sticky. To prevent the dough from sticking to the pizza stone or baking sheet, roll a bit of cornmeal into the dough. Put the cornmeal side down.

Drizzle a little olive oil on the rolled out dough before adding sauce to prevent the dough from absorbing the sauce. Add toppings and bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees F.

Freeze any unused dough.

Makes 2 large pizzas.

Pizza Sauce

2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1-1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon honey 1-1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
salt to taste

Pizza Sauce can be frozen and easily defrosted for future use.

Serves 8