One of my family’s favorite meals to share together is pizza. There are many great memories that come to mind when I think of making pizza. At one point we would indulge our pizza craving every Friday night, which was our designated pizza night. We’ve had many movie/family nights or football games that have involved eating pizza using this recipe.

All those times we wanted to have pizza, I could have ordered out from a restaurant or bought dough from the grocery store (and trust me I have done this when making my own pizza dough just didn’t fit in our schedule). But making our own has saved money and the taste is worth the effort.

We received our first pizza peel and stone as a wedding present from my in-laws. If you aren’t familiar with a pizza peel, it is a wooden paddle you place the dough on. After adding toppings, you use the peel to transfer the pizza to the oven. A pizza stone is what you put the pizza on in the oven, which is a great way to get your pizza cooked evenly and helps crisp the dough. We have only had to replace our stone once since being married 26 years.

Making your own homemade pizza is easier than you think and much better than store-bought, with only 5 ingredients. You have to do a little planning by making sure you have time to let your dough rise. Starting out I was wary of using yeast, but don’t let that deter you. Trust me this recipe is easy to use.

The recipe that follows, came with the stone we received many years ago.

Homemade Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 1 pkg dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Step 1: In a bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in salt and 2 cups flour to make a thick batter. Add in olive oil and stir for 30 seconds to blend in oil. Gradually add in the remaining flour using a dough hook (or a regular beater is fine) and beat until you form a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add flour as needed if it gets too sticky. Beat with a dough hook for 2 minutes or until smooth and elastic or turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead with a push-turn-fold motion for about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a bowl greased with olive oil. Cover with a towel and set aside to rise for about 1 1/2 hours.

Step 2: Uncover the bowl and punch down the risen dough. Knead briefly to flatten. Re-cover and leave for 45 more minutes.

Step 3: Preheat the oven (including the pizza stone) to 475 degrees.

Step 4: After the dough has risen, place it on a lightly floured surface. With your hands, flatten the dough and push it into a circle. Let it rest a few minutes so it will not drawback. Roll into a circle slightly larger than your pizza stone (or pizza pan) or you can pick it up in your hands rotating the dough around in a circle and throw it up in the air if you want to be really fancy! Place the dough on your pizza peel (or greased pan) that has been sprinkled generously with cornmeal. Brush olive oil over the dough surface and add your favorite ingredients! Bake pizza for 12-15 minutes or done to your liking.

*If you are using a peel and stone- with the pizza on the peel reach to the back of the stone and place the edge of the peel at an upward angle and with quick, short, back and forth motions withdraw the peel from underneath the pizza. After cooking, remove pizza by sliding peel underneath and place on a pizza pan to cool before cutting.

**I make two 14 inch pizzas depending on the thickness you want from one recipe.

Click here to download the recipe:

A couple final notes:

I leave my stone in the oven all the time because it helps even out the cooking of other food as well, but take the stone out if you are using your broiler unless the directions on your stone say otherwise.

You could also use this recipe to make mini pizzas and have everyone in your family design their own. Let me know if you try this and how you like it!