100% Scratch Pizza

My kid brother is up visiting for the weekend. He's great; I really enjoy his company even though we are 8 years apart. He is a fish eating vegetarian so when I opted for dinner in as the evening's activities tonight, I had to keep meat off the menu.

I suggested a bunch of things that I thought might be something new to try to make and delicious. Both the Adams- brother and husband- voted for pizza. We went all out with from scratch dough, from scratch sauce, and fun fresh toppings. The crust was a little extra crunchy and substantial. The Kitchen Aid recipe we used was good, but nothing special. Some garlic powder and Parmesan sprinkled in might have given it that extra kick. We also should have done 2 thin crusts, rather than one giant thick crust.

The sauce was tasty, but it took a lot of fudging since we made it from straight up fresh tomatoes- it was too fresh tasting until we loaded it with spices. For all the effort, jarred might just be easier. It was nice knowing what went into it though- no extra sugars or preservatives. All in all it was fun baking and cooking with my brother though- and that was the point of the evening!


Scratch Pizza
Dough
From Kitchen Aid Manual

• 1 Package Active Yeast
  
• 1 C. Warm Water
  
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
  
• 2 tsp. Olive Oil
  
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 C. Flour
  
• Cornmeal

1. Dissolve yeast in water in the warmed Kitchen Aid bowl.
   
2. Add in the oil, salt, and 2 1/2 C. flour and mix for 1 minute on speed 2 with the dough hook. While continuing to stir, add in the remaining flour 1/2 C. at a time.
   
3. Continue to mix until the dough makes a clean ball and then let it knead for 2 minutes.
   
4. Place the dough in a greased bowl and let it rise, covered, about an hour until it doubles in size.
   
5. When risen, punch the dough down. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. I cook pizza with my pizza stone, and per advice from my friend Dianna, my guest blogger below, I let the stone heat up good and hot in the oven while it preheats. This makes for a crispy, well cooked crust.
   
6. Work the dough into a pizza crust shape. (Ours was misshapen!) Sprinkle cornmeal onto the hot pizza stone and gently lay the dough on the stone.
   
7. If desired, for a crispy crust, prebake the dough for 10 minutes in the hot oven. Remove and add toppings- sauce, cheese, goodies.
   
8. Bake for another 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and slice. Let sit for a few minutes and then enjoy!

Sauce

• 3 Ripe Tomatoes, cut into quarters or large chunks
  
• 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  
• Fresh Basil
  
• 1 Clove Garlic, crushed
  
• 1 Can Tomato Paste
  
• Spices to taste: Oregano, Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, Basil, Garlic Powder
  
• Pinch of White Sugar
  
• 2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese, finely grated

1. In a blender, add in all ingredients and mix on Food Processor or Puree mode to make even consistency of sauce. Sauce should be thick, but not so thick that you can't spread it nicely on a pizza.
   
2. Continue mixing and tasting until you get the flavor to your liking. Let sit for a little while to let flavors blend.