# Need help with pizza



## sunnybunny (Mar 27, 2006)

My kids want homemade pizza.  I need help with recipes, please?


----------



## pdswife (Mar 27, 2006)

My Sauce
Feel free to add more or less of each item.

5 cloves diced garlic
1/2 onion diced
1 can diced tomato
1 can tomato sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons Greek Oregano
1/2 teaspoon fennel
1 -1 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
dash salt

Dice onion and garlic and saute in EVOO
Add tomatoes and tomato sauce
add Oregano and fennel and sugar and salt
Let simmer until flavors all meld together.

If you like your sauce "unlumpy" you can throw the tomatoes, garlic 
and onion into a food processor before or after cooking.


 Paul's Crust
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 package yeast
1 teaspoon olive oil 
1 cup HOT water (110 degrees)
1 teaspoon brown sugar.

sorry.. I don't have the instructions.. he just kneeds it for awhile and then lets it rise. Sometimes ONCE... sometimes TWICE depending on how hungry we are.


Here are the two recipes we use.
Both are very easy.
It's really fun if you each have your own pizza and top it the way you like.
Kids LOVE IT!


----------



## QSis (Mar 27, 2006)

sunnybunny said:
			
		

> My kids want homemade pizza. I need help with recipes, please?


 
I do it the ALMOST easiest way.  Buy the raw dough at the supermarket.  Buy a jar of pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce or even a small can of tomato sauce.  Prepare a bunch of toppings that your kids like, but make sure  you have a bag of shredded mozzarrella or a combo of some melty cheeses, some dried oregano and maybe a drizzle of olive oil over all.

A pizza stone is best, but you can make it on a cookie sheet if you must.  Heat it up in a 425-450 degree oven.  If you don't have a pizza peel, you can form the pizza on your counter, remove the hot cookie sheet from the oven,  flop the formed dough onto the cookie sheet or stone, and quickly build the pizza, then pop it into the oven.  Check it in 15 minutes.  When it's golden brown on top, let it cool slightly before slicing it to serve.

I LOVE "almost homemade" pizza!

Lee


----------



## Michelemarie (Mar 27, 2006)

I make my dough in the breadmaker.  If you have a breadmaker let me know - I will post my recipe.  

I also use a pizza stone - makes a big difference to me.

I use canned pizza sauce (I know, bad me) but it's not that bad.  I sometimes used packagaed shredded mozzarella and sometimes fresh mozzarella.  If you use fresh mozzarella season with some salt.  I like fresh basil too.


----------



## sunnybunny (Mar 27, 2006)

I gave away my bread machine because I never used it.  As soon as I did I found all these great recipes for it.  I guess I need to get a new one.


----------



## velochic (Mar 28, 2006)

However you do your dough, beyond that, you can do ANYTHING!

We use white sauce, homemade pizza sauce (very, very easy and quick if you want a recipe), or pesto sauce.  Then add your favorite combo of fun toppings: pineapple, artichoke hearts, broccoli, mushrooms, chilies, eggs, capers, peas, corn, garlic, peppers, spinach, sardines, anchovies, tuna, sucuk (Turish salami), salami, shrimp, sausage, chicken, proscuitto, fresh tomatoes, onions, gorgonzola, basil, feta, chevre (goat's milk cheese).  These are all toppings offered at our local pizzaria (run by Italians, of course) and it's always fun to have so many choices.


----------



## Ripliancum (Apr 24, 2006)

Here is a good pizza i made one time.

I put some recota cheese directly on the crust, then added the pizza sauce on top of that,  for my toppings i chose sliced tomato, onions, and spinach, i added some spices to give it some flavor, it turned out really good. Everyone enjoyed it. The recota cheese really adds to it. Its not something people really think to put on pizza, but its excelent.


----------



## Shaheen (Apr 24, 2006)

check out this link.. It has a good step by step photo guide, right from the pizza base to eating the crust!

http://goodcooking.com/pizza5r.htm


----------



## vyapti (Apr 24, 2006)

I like to kneed some minced garlic into the dough.  Also, my sauce is similar to pdswife with one noteable exception.  Before I saute the onions, I saute  mushrooms, reserve them for the pizza and then proceed.  The mushroom's liquid adds a nice flavor to the sauce.


----------



## Shaheen (Apr 24, 2006)

some nice tips vyapti. cheers!


----------



## Banana Brain (Apr 30, 2006)

An easy and healthful fough idea is to just buy pita pockets and let everyone make their own Greek pizza (great with tomatoes, feta, and olives). Of course, that wouldn't be the "pizza" your kids would expect. For four indivisual "Italian" pizza dough:
Put either 2 1/2 tablespoons of fresh cake yeast or 1 package of dry yeast in a warm mixing bowl. Add 1 cup lukewarm water. Stir in a little pinch of sugar and mix with a fork. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes until the yeast has dissolved. Next mix in 1 TBS salt with 2 cups white flour until the dough forms a mass and begins to pull away from the sides. Sprinkle on about another cup of flour so that it won't stick when you knead it. Knead the dough for eight to ten minutes until its elastic and smooth. Form a ball with the dough. Oil a mixing bowl and place the dough in the bowl. Stretch a dish towl across the top of the bowl and leave it to stand for 40-50 minutes for the dough to rise (to test if its risen, poke two fingers into the dough- the indent should remain). Punch the dough with your feast to relieve air and knead for 1-2 more minutes.  Make four indivisual balls. In floured pans that are about 10 1/2 inches in diameter, pat the balls of dough into flat circles. Roll out thickness to about 1/4 of an inch with a rolling pin. Roll the dough to about 1/4 of an inch larger than the pan. If you are using a rounder pan, press some of the dough towards the edge. Now your pizza is ready for filling!
The possibilities with filling are endless. What's really yummy is using instead of sauce 1 1/2 tbs of EVOO on each pizza. Top that with either cheese or just meat and vegitables (EVOO + many many thinly sliced onions = better than cheese). If you use cheese, use WHOLE MILK cheese. Do you wonder why the cheese on most pizzas of today doesn't stretch all the way from the way from the pie to your plate in ooey gooey strings like it did in the olden days? Three evil words: Part. Skim. Mozzerella. Not stretchy at all, way less ooey gooey. Using good, full-fat cheese is more expensive but is ten times better. And don't think you're limited to mozzerella and parmesian cheese. White chedder with canadian bacon is delicious. Other good cheese options: Goats cheese (diced), sharp Cheddar (grated), Gorganozola/general Blue cheese (sliced), Feta (just kinda sprinkled) or really anything you want. Again, the possibilities are endless. This is your pie, make it how you want. The best pizza recipe is made of a combination of toppings that you invented yourself. And since you have kids, they'll definatly like getting to choose their own.  
And don't forget to add yummy herbs!


----------



## college_cook (Apr 30, 2006)

Someone mentioned using fresh mozzarella on their pizza, which is a great i dea, b/c fresh mozzarella is wonderful!  However, when using frsh mozz. do you grate it or thinly slice it to add to your pizza?  I have always had a  lot of trouble grating fresh mozz. b/c it is so soft.

I don't know is this is strange or not... but I often use the jarred pasta sauces by Prego, Ragu, or Bertolli.  I like thick hearty sauces with lots of herbs though, and I find using these premade sauces is much easier than using canned pizza sauce and adding my own herbs.

Some great topping combinations, IMO:
spinach, mushroom, and fresh grated garlic (GREAT when deep-dish)

italian sausage, sliced or ground, with a tomato-basil sauce, and peppers

a sauce-less pizza, spread the crust lightly with olive oil, top with fresh herbs and shredded chicken breast, and top with grated parmesan

BBQ chicken pizza is also a good one, but go easy on the BBQ sauce, and use cheddar or colby-jack cheese

Here's one I did once, that turned out well, and quite different from most pizzas.  I made a rich and thick mushroom sauce and topped the pizza with only that and cheese.

I love pizzas because they are really like a blank page that you can express your culinary vision on.


----------



## beesidhu (Jun 6, 2006)

I have made pizza several times each time its diff!!at times its not so good i mean the base the toppings usually are on ...i feel my dough is not rite !


----------



## BreezyCooking (Jun 6, 2006)

Most supermarkets sell ready-to-bake pizza shells in their refrigerated or freezer sections, & all the brands I've tried have worked quite well.  The only brand I'm not too fond of is "Boboli", as I find the crust too thick & doughy.

My favorite jarred pizza sauce is "Ragu Pizza Sauce" - works great on regular pizza, as well as little individual English Muffin "pizzas", although most of my homemade pizzas are white (ricotta based), with no tomatoes or red sauce.

Other than that - the sky is the limit.  I like to do mine with toppings that aren't easy to find here in VA - clam & garlic, turkey pepperoni, mixed wild mushroom, mixed seafood, etc., etc.


----------



## Hopz (Jun 6, 2006)

O.K. lots of good suggestions, now here is the REALLY easy way.... also fast and GOOD, and can be a fun participation for the kids.

1. Buy a Boboli Thin Crust Pizza shell at the grocery.
2. Make sauce by taking a can of tomato sauce in a sauce pan, add powdered garlic, oregano, thyme, and basil. Bring to simmer.
3. Obtain your desired toppings.
4. Add sauce, toppings and shredded mozzarella in any sequence you like.
5. Bake in 425 oven for 8-10 minutes
6. Consume with gusto.


----------

