Pizza's come from the oven too!

Pizza may very well be my favorite food, except for brownies of course.  And since the man in my life likes it too, we started experimenting with making our own crust and sauce.  

Result: we're hooked.

Homemade crust:

1 package of dry yeast

1/4-1/2 tsp brown sugar

1 1/2 c warm water

1 tsp salt

4 c flour (+ extra for work surface)

olive oil

• Dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in a bowl for 10-15min
• Stir in the salt, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and 2-3 cups of flour
• Knead dough on a floured surface, gradually mixing in the rest of the 4 cups of flour (knead the dough to the point that it's not sticking to your fingers)
• Roll dough into a ball, place in an oiled bowl and cover with a towel for about 1 hour (when you come back for it the dough will have doubled or tripled in size, so use a big bowl).  
• The dough will continue to rise until your pizza starts baking, so move quickly and add your sauce, cheese, and toppings of choice.
• Bake on a pizza stone, at 425 degrees for about 20-30 minutes (longer if your pan is smaller and the dough is thicker)

*We've been pre-heating our pizza stone and sprinkling a coating of cornmeal on before the crust.  

I would highly recommend doing this so even if your dough is underdone in the center it won't stick.

Sauce:
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
1 can water (6 oz)
1 clove minced garlic (1 tsp from the jar works too)
4 tbsp grated park cheese
3-4 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4-1/2 tsp basil
3/4 tsp onion powder
4 tbsp brown sugar
salt

• Start with the tomato paste and water in a saucepan on the stove, try to mix them as they heat up
• Add the parmesan cheese and garlic, let it heat up
• Add all the rest of the ingredients (it's a lot, but a great combination!)
• Stir it up and let it simmer, covered for at least 25min

*This has a kick to it, so if you like spicy-sweet sauce, this is for you

*If you decide to add more cayenne or pepper flakes, add more brown sugar or honey to keep the delicious balance

Toppings: We've found that sausage or grilled chicken go really well with this sauce, along with some roma tomatoes, red peppers, and pepperoncinis
I have to admit, we've made this so many times we've premixed all the dry seasonings in a jar and just scoop some out whenever we want to make sauce.  Worth it.

Buon Appetito!