Homemade Pizza and Sauce

   Homemade Pizza is a favorite at our house.  Everyone makes his/her own pizza, just the size wanted with just the toppings wanted.  Even the grandchildren make their own.  This recipe makes enough for an evening with a crowd. Be sure to pre-heat your oven to as hot as it can get.  Ours is usually set to 550°.  Each pizza takes about  10 - 15 minutes.

   Oh, and our REAL secret are the tiles we keep in the oven.  They are terra-cotta quarry tiles.  {We bought them at HomeDepot many years ago. We recently sought out more, but had a hard time finding them.  We ended up at a tile store that was willing to order them for us.}  We use a pizza paddle and slide the uncooked pizza onto the pre-heated tiles and then use the same paddle to slide the cooked pizzas from the oven too.

Authentic Pizza Dough

2 T. yeast

1 t. sugar

4 cups warm water

4 cups flour

Beat until soupy. Let stand 20 minutes until foamy.

Add to above:

¼ cup olive oil

4 t. salt

8 – 10 cups flour

Mix to stiff dough. Let rest 10 – 15 min.  Makes 5-6 large pizzas, or 15 - 20 small ones.

Remember to use corn meal under the dough to roll the dough out. This keeps it moveable and adds great texture and flavor to your finished pizza.

Pizza Sauce

6, 8oz cans tomato sauce or tomato puree

½ t. pepper

1 t. sugar

2 t. salt

1 t. garlic powder

2 t. onion powder

1 t. sweet basil

1 ½ t. oregano

Simmer one or more hours.  A crock-pot works best.

Use your favorite toppings and cheese. 

Your oven needs to be as hot as it can be, 500 or more degrees.