Going on almost a decade, I've religiously made homemade pizza on Friday nights. It has become a grounding family ritual we look forward to every week!
I've never done the math on homemade pizza, but I'm confident in saying it is a very frugal meal. I can buy all my ingredients once and make a couple dozen pizzas out of them. Seriously!
Occasionally I take a pizza sabbatical. But we always come back around to our trusty, homemade Friday night pizza.
Today, I share my secrets and tricks.
THE DOUGH AND CRUST
I have tried almost every crust there is to try and hands down the Artisan Bread dough makes the best crust. Even better, it makes a ton and keeps in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. The recipe makes enough dough for about 6 pizzas, so I make 3 pizzas one Friday and then my dough is ready to go for the next week.
This dough behaves. Once it's cooked it slides on and off the pan just like a pizza at a restaurant. Also, it actually gets better on the second week. Not sure what chemistry is going on in the fridge when it's sitting in there, but the flavor truly gets better with age.
I spray the pan with cooking spray and dust a little cornmeal on there before placing dough on the pan.
THE SAUCE (AND SEASONINGS)
I use store bought sauce, pesto (from Costco) and marinara (favorite brand is Victoria). I also love to sprinkle on a few red pepper flakes and dried oregano.
In the summer, I slice fresh tomatoes from the farmer's market and that is our ultimate favorite. But most of the year, store bought sauce is the go-to.
THE CHEESE
I like the huge bags of shredded mozzarella from Costco or Walmart. To store it, I fill plastic pint size Ziploc baggies with the cheese and keep them in the freezer.
One bag is plenty for 3 pizzas when rationed properly.
I used to do fresh mozzarella, but honestly found it to be a little too watery. Plus, the shredded is the more economical choice.
My kids love to help with sprinkling the cheese.
THE TOPPINGS
Pepperoni, black olives, onions, peppers, mushrooms...the sky is the limit!
THE PANS
After years of using cookie sheets, I splurged at the Dollar Tree and bought round, aluminum pans. I've had them for about a year now and they've held up beautifully.
CUTTING THE PIZZA
I used to use a pizza cutter, but we lost it. So now we use a knife. I share this only to make the point that you don't need a lot of specialty kitchen tools. Minimalist kitchens are the way to go!
IN THE OVEN
on 500 degrees for about 7-8 minutes
EATING AND ENJOYING
Sometimes we all eat at the table. Sometimes we all eat in front of the TV and watch a movie together. Sometimes I feed the kids early and then Stephen and I eat together sort of like we're on a date while the kids watch TV.
REHEATING
We usually have leftovers and this (scroll down) is the best way to reheat.
Do you make homemade pizza?! What do you like to eat on a Friday night?
Thank you for these great tips! I went to the site referenced for the recipe. How do you know how much dough to pull out of the container? It said to pull out 8oz. Are you that precise? If you don't have a scale, then how much would you pull out if you were making two pizzas, for example?
ReplyDeleteI can't find a homemade dough/crust my family likes, so every Sat. we take and bake a Papa Murphy's. I would like to try out the recipe you recommend, though, so in the summer when I'm not pressed for time, I will. I enjoyed reading your post!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes! to the minimalist kitchen. Kitchen shears are a "gadget" I like. They do so many useful things.
ReplyDeleteWe often have homemade pizza on Friday night, but it's not a ritual for us (Saturday morning pancakes are!). I cut baked pizza with my kitchen shears!!! I actually got rid of my pizza cutter.
ReplyDeleteI use Smitten Kitchen's lazy dough and I use half WW flour. Our favorite topping is ham and pineapple - mmmmmmm.