October is National Pizza Month!

Buongiorno!

Who knew October was National Pizza Month? Well, my husband did! He let me know via a text message yesterday. I'm pretty sure he was hinting at the fact that he wanted pizza for dinner last night. Unfortunately we were having leftovers. I really shouldn't say unfortunately because leftovers was eggplant parmigiana, homemade of course! No problem though, we always have pizza on Friday nights.

We had always ordered our pizza on Friday nights from various pizza shops near our house and enjoyed it. The only problem was that we were not only ordering pizza. We got into the habit of getting french fries or onion rings or mozzarella sticks to go along with the pizza. I'll admit... onion rings are my weakness!! I love them but I really do not need to be eating them once a week! So instead of ordering our pizza, with various sides, I decided to start making my own homemade pizza and a healthier side dish. This would be our new Friday pizza night. Fresh, homemade pizza and salad!

So in honor of National Pizza Month, I would like to encourage everyone to make their own pizza at least once! It's a healthier, tastier, family friendly option to ordering out. And since you're making your own, everyone can choose their own toppings! Let's get started!

First things first... the dough. The easiest way to make pizza dough is with a mixer. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, use it! You will be so thrilled at how easy it is! You won't have to knead the dough by hand because the mixer does all the work for you. The best part of this recipe is that you don't have to roll the dough out! I know I haven't always had an easy time rolling out pizza dough! Here is a recipe for basic pizza dough that I use (from the Kitchen Aid stand mixer recipe book).
Ingredients

• 1 package of active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons if you have a jar of yeast)
• 1 cup of warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of olive oil
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 table spoon of cornmeal

Directions

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl (I warm the bowl by filling it with hot water from the tap).
2. Add salt, olive oil, and 2 1/2 cups of flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 1 minute.
3. Continuing on speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until dough clings to the hook and cleans the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes.
4. Kneed on speed 2 for about 2 minutes longer. At this point you can tell whether or not you need to add more flour. If the dough is still sticking to the bottom of the bowl you need to add more. 
5. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. I remove the dough from the bowl and grease it with olive oil then place the dough back in the bowl and turn to coat. This way you will only have to wash one bowl!
6. Cover. I use saran wrap, actually stretch tight. It's the best brand!
7. Let rise in a warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
8. Once dough has risen, punch the dough down, gently! You want to remove air from the dough but you don't want to press too hard because then you will have thin spots in your dough.
9. Brush a 14 inch pizza pan with olive oil. Sprinkle with cornmeal.
10. Press the dough across the bottom of the pan, forming a collar around the edge to hold toppings.
11. Add toppings.
12. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

If you don't have a stand mixer that's okay! You can make the dough by hand as well, it just requires a little more work. Use the same ingredients as listed above.

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the olive oil and yeast mixture into it. Stir  until it begins to form a ball.
4. Take the ball of dough out and place it on a clean, floured surface and knead for about 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Place the ball of dough into a greased bowl and turn to coat.
6. Cover with saran wrap (stretch tight is my brand of choice) and let rise in a warm place free from draft for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
7. Brush a 14 inch pizza pan with oil. Sprinkle with cornmeal.
8. Press dough across the bottom of the pan, forming a collar around the edge to hold toppings.
9. Add toppings.
10. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

That's it! Super easy! Once you've made the dough a few times you'll be able to make it very quickly. It only takes me about 10-15 minutes for me to make it now. Of course I love to use my own homemade sauce on my pizza but you can use jarred sauce as well. Fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil makes an amazing margarita pizza! Roasted red pepper and artichokes is yummy too! You decide how you want to top your pizza. The options are endless! Give it a try and let me know how it turns out. Hopefully you will enjoy your homemade pizza better than that pizza shop down the street. A more yummy and healthy option for you and your family!

Buon Appetito!