Homemade Pizza - making the dough and sauce from scratch

*Post by Mark.

To me, there's no better street food than pizza. In fact, I love it so much that if I had an extra fifteen grand floating around, I'd probably spend it on wood-fire pizza oven. Sure, that may not sound like a household necessity, but the ability to cook a pizza in three minutes flat at 1000° F is one I'd take advantage of every day. Needless to say, I don't have such an oven, so I do the best with what I have.

I may not be able to cook my pizza much hotter than 475° F in a standard oven, but that isn't to say I can't still take delight in making my own dough and pizza sauce from scratch.

Ingredients for the Pizza Dough:

• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-weat flour
• kosher salt

In a small bowl, stir together 1 cup luke-warm water, the honey and 1 teaspoon olive.  Sprinkle the yeast over top and let sit about ten minutes until foamy.

In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, the whole-wheat flour and one teaspoon kosher salt. Add the yeast mixture and stir. Add the remaining 1/2 cup all-purpose flour as needed to form a soft dough. Work the dough on a floured surface, kneading until the surface of the dough is smooth. The dough should not be sticky. 

Oil a large bowl with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and turn the ball of dough in the bowl to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it in warm place for about an hour. The dough should rise to about twice its original size.

Ingredients for the pizza sauce:

• 3-4 Heirloom Tomatoes, cut into chunks
• Extra-Virgin Olive Oil 
• Fresh Basil, chopped
• Garlic, coarsely chopped
• Oregano
• Salt and pepper

All of the ingredients can be added in any amount for obviously varying tastes, but I'm never shy with the amount of garlic or basil I use when I make my sauce.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the garlic. Cook the garlic while constantly stirring for 1-2 minutes. Then add the tomato, basil and oregano. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally until the sauce begins to thicken.

Once most of the liquid has been cooked out, transfer the chunky sauce to a food processor, purée and you have yourself homemade pizza sauce. 

Punch the dough down and let rest for another ten minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 450°F, lightly oil a baking sheet and stretch the dough across it. I like to use the whole wheat flour because it makes the crust a little healthier and more wholesome without conceding any flavor. Sprinkle a little kosher salt over top and add your choice of toppings.

I layered this pizza with dollops of sauce, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, and fresh basil. 

Cook the pizza at 475° F for 20 minutes or until nicely browned. Remove it from the oven, slice and serve. No doubt, this is some of the best pizza we've made at home - that is, until we install the brick oven in the second bedroom.