I had a hankering to try my hand at completely homemade pizza. It was an immediate success and requests were made to share the recipe.

Bread Maker Pizza Dough (makes enough for two 12″ round pizza pans)

1 1/3 cups water

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp sugar

1 1/4 tsp salt

2 cups bread flour

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp minced onions

1 1/2 tsp yeast

Parchment paper

Olive oil

Add ingredients in the order given to bread machine. Set on Pizza Dough setting. After the machine beeps remove the dough and cut in half. Place dough on parchment paper and stretch, roll, and tug gently to form the size crust you desire.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly drizzle olive oil over dough before placing in preheated oven. Parbake crust for 10 minutes and then remove.

Classic Margherita Sauce (makes enough for two 12″ round pizza pans)

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

2 8-oz cans tomato sauce (can be flavored if desired)

3 large garlic cloves

2 oz fresh basil

Crush and hand mince garlic cloves. Slice basil leaves into short ribbons. Simmer all ingredients together in one large pot for at least 30 minutes.

Assemble

Allow pizza dough to cool. I usually make this the night before and refrigerate both the pizza dough and sauce. Before assembling bring ingredients out of the refrigerator and allow to warm to room temperature(ish).

With parchment paper still under parbaked dough, add 1/2 of the Classic Margherita Sauce to each crust. Add desired items like pepperoni, Italian sausage, etcetera. Top with grated mozzarella cheese. Bake pizza at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove parchment paper, and bake for 5 more minutes.

Remove pizza from oven and drizzle lightly with more olive oil immediately. Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy

Offered suggestions and hints from those who enjoyed:

• thinner crust is best because this dough rises while it cooks.
• cook one pizza at a time.