Homemade Pizza Crust and Sauce Recipes!

For Valentine's Day, I made my husband homemade pizza from scratch. While I made it heart-shaped for the special day, you could certainly make it round shape for any day of the year (and my husband has requested it become part of our regular menu rotation!). Anyway, after scouring the internet and my cookbook collection for good recipes, here's what I ended up using.

Pizza Crust
2 1/2 to 3 cups of flour
2 1/4 tsp or 1 packet dry active yeast
1 cup of warm water
2 tbsp oil

• Mix half of the flour with all of the yeast, water, and oil.
• Add remaining flour and mix.
• Knead about 6 minutes or until soft and supple
• Let rest 10 minutes
• Roll each half into an 11 inch circle
• Pinch around the edges to form a crust
• Cover and allow to rise for 30-45 minutes
• Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until beginning to turn goldeny brown
• Add sauce and toppings and bake 10 more minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

from the Better Homes & Garden recipe

I let my pizza crusts rise on foil with cornmeal sprinkled on it!

And for my pizza sauce, I combined with a whisk:

• 1 12 oz can of tomato paste
• 3 cloves fresh garlic (mushed through my garlic press)
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp basil
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Mix all those ingredients, then add 1/2 to 1 1/2 cups warm water until you like the thickness. I made it really thick and used a lot each time, and it lasted about 6 pizzas.

I made one pizza  for Valentine's Day with mozzarella and heart-shaped pepperonis and one with mozzarella, pepperonis, onion, and bell pepper. The one with the veggies was definitely better, but both were amazingly delicious. I kind of want to make this every night now.

Notes:

• I made this with half whole wheat flour on another night since then and while my husband and I both liked it, the toddler rejected it.
• Fresh garlic is obviously awesome, but it would totally work with garlic powder if that's what you have on hand. It would probably be fine without the red wine vinegar too, especially if you subbed in a little white vinegar. Anyway, specialty ingredients are great, but don't let the absence of them prevent you from making this!
• I discovered that both mozzarella and cheddar cheese are way cheaper when you buy them in 2 lb bags. At my local grocery store, the regular price of the 2lb bags makes them cheaper per oz than even the sale prices on the 8oz bag.
• Try making veggie pizza with a couple of types of cheese for a meat-free buy delicious Lenten Friday diner (and much lower cost than fast food restaurant pizza or fish from anywhere around me!).