Try It Out | Homemade Pizza

One of my all-time favorite foods is pizza. Any style. Any toppings. All the time. I didn't realize how often I made it at home until I had a new roommate during my senior year of college and when she ordered delivery pizza I realized I had never seen a pizza delivery guy at my apartment front door! Now that is not to say that I don't love Domino's or Papa Johns, but if I'm going to have pizza at home it is almost always going to be made by yours truly.

I say that because making pizza yourself is an inexpensive way to have fun in the kitchen and try out new flavor combinations. I especially love making homemade pizza for friends because it is a comfort food that you can easily make new again just by switching up the ingredients. Today's theme is sausage and pepperoni hearts (yep, I'm that girl on Valentine's Day).

I have a few tricks I want to share that I have picked up along the way. I hope they will help you in your homemade pizza making adventures.

1. Use tomato sauce WITH tomato paste.

Tomato paste by itself is pretty boring, but when you use your favorite tomato sauce it is too watery and then your toppings might slide off. By mixing the two you get the consistency you need and the flavor you want. It is also worth noting I prefer to use fresh dough, but take the shortcut and pick some up at the store.

2. Layer cheese on the sauce before you layer on the toppings.

This is what I think of as the "glue" to the pizza. If you put the toppings on the bottom and add cheese on top then the cheese can slide right off. Trust me, I've done it.

3. Make sure to add more cheese on top!

Not only is this the most delicious option, but it "protects" the toppings from burning before the rest of the pizza is cooked. So now your toppings are nestled in between two layers of cheese. Yum. Although some crispy pepperoni on top is pretty delicious. However, burned caramelized onions are not. So choose your layers wisely.

4. Resist temptation to immediately cut into the pizza!

As delicious as that ooey-gooey pizza will be, it is worth your while to wait 3-5 minutes to let the pizza set. My personal choice is to use kitchen scissors, but a knife or pizza cutter will work as well.

*Bonus tip: use the last few minutes of cooking time wisely and slide your pizza off of the pan and directly onto the oven rack. This will give you a crispier crust.

I don't have a particular recipe that I use, but I thought I would list my ingredient list:

• Flour

• to coat the dough and keep it from sticking all over

• Non-stick spray

• spray the pan before putting on the dough

• Fresh Dough

• you can pick this up in most local grocery stores

• Tomato Paste

• Tomato Sauce

• whatever your favorite may be

• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

• Italian Seasoning

• this can go in the sauce and on top of the pizza

• Your favorite toppings!

• try caramelized onions, roasted cherry tomatoes and basil

Now all that is left is to enjoy your masterpiece!

-Samantha

#pizza #homemade #cheese #inthemidst