Homemade Pizza Perfected

I am so sorry it has been awhile since I have posted.   Not so sure anyone even stops by, but if you do, thank you!  Life with three young boys is really keeping me busy!  Anyway, a long time ago, I think back when I started this blog, I wrote a post about homemade whole wheat (not entirely whole wheat) pizza.  Oh, here's the link for you to check out, in case you missed it before.  I am happy to say that after over two years of making this pizza, I have some tips to make it even more delicious.  We eat it almost every Friday night and we never seem to get enough of it.  Seriously, try the recipe from Cooking Light .

Tips for a perfect pizza:

1.  The recipe says to have the "warm water" be between 100-110 degrees.  Yes, I actually use my candy thermometer to measure the temperature and make sure it falls within the range.  That is the best temperature to activate the yeast properly, at least I think so!  My friend laughed at me when she found out I did that, but then she tasted our pizza and agreed it tastes quite good.

 2.  If using a pizza stone, heat the stone in the oven before baking the pizza.  I usually leave it in the oven for at least 5 minutes.  I don't heat up my cookie sheets though, just the stone, since it seems to take a little longer to get hot.
3.  Sprinkle some corn meal on your pizza stone and/or cookie sheet, before putting the crust on it.
4.  Try to roll out (or do the fancy hand thing like they do in the pizza shops) the dough as thin as possible for a crisper crust--that's what we prefer.
5.  Be careful not to use too much sauce as it will make the crust mushy...just a light/thin layer.
6.  I bake the crust first for about 7-9 minutes and then I take it out, put the toppings on, and place it back in the oven for another 8 minutes, until the cheese is melted completely.

Enjoy!  I really hope you enjoy this pizza as much as we do.  If you get in the habit of making homemade pizza you can save so much money and you realized it tastes so much better.

I recently made my own version of a white veggie pizza and I thought I would share that with you too!  I follow the same recipe for the crust. For the sauce I used about 4 small cloves of garlic (minced), 3-4 Tbsp. olive oil (give or take a little), 3-4 tsp. Italian seasoning, and a few dashes of salt and pepper.  Mix together in a small bowl and brush over the pre-baked crust.  Add any veggies you like.  I used steamed broccoli and spinach.  Next, I sprinkled with some mozzarella and feta and baked it for an additional 7-8 minutes, or until cheese is melted.  I just made another tonight and it was great!

Do you have a pizza recipe you prefer?  Any tips for a great pizza?