I've never made pizza at home. I'm sure we did it a few times when I was a kid, but as an adult (or whatever I am now), I've just never seen the point in expending so much effort when you can just get someone to literally bring some right to your door. At least, that's how I felt before. But as I have learned more about cooking and have grown to appreciate the stuff I make myself, this seemed like a natural way to go. I got a pizza stone and a great trio of pizza-themed cookbooks for Father's Day so this was a great chance to put it all together and give it a shot.
I started with the sauce. I'm currently trying to eat really healthy food and drop a few more pounds, and obviously this is not a lifestyle that meshes well with pizza consumption. But I figured I would do what I could, so I opted to use a sauce recipe from The Biggest Loser family cookbook. I have made this once before and I really liked the taste, healthy or not. I made it again, although I didn't have the crushed red pepper that the recipe called for so I substituted ground cayenne pepper, which added a little extra spice that I enjoyed.
Next up was the dough, and this was the only part of the equation that I was worried about. I'm not a baker. This makes no sense, because I love pretty much any baked good that I can get my paws on. But I have never learned how to do it, aside from following a pre-packaged mix or something similarly easy. 
But I picked a basic dough recipe from one of the pizza cook books and got down to it. It rose just like it was supposed to. I've worked in pizza places before, yet my dough-working skills are still a bit lacking. I did the best I could, or at least gave it a good shot as a total rookie. Pie number one was basically a simple margherita, with sauce, good mozzarella cheese, and basil. I don't think I got the dough pounded thin enough. It was very tasty, but the bottom crust was not at all crusty.
For pizza number two, I went for pepperoni and shredded mozz. I intentionally wanted to keep things pretty simple this first time out and I was happy with the results. I think I got the dough in better shape on this second pie, and it was also really delicious. The outside crust was great, but the bottom was still not as crisp as I would like. I think I can get this better in future attempts. Overall, I give the experience a big thumbs up. It was fun to do, and the resulting pies were definitely better than any pizza delivery chain stuff. I will keep at this.
2 comments:
Your mother did try to teach you to bake but you preferred shooting baskets or playing video games.
But I'm very happy you're such a good cook now.
Are you letting the stone get super hot?
Let's try some grilled pizza in Aug.
I think not heating the stone enough the first time around was part of the reason for the soggy crust.
And I know you tried to get me to bake, mom. And cook. And take music lessons. I should have listened to everything.
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