HOME MADE PIZZA

Home Made Pizza Sauce with garlic, onions & spices
I recently treated myself (and the family) to an inexpensive bread maker with the intention of making bread instead of buying it.  The main reason was to avoid the name of chemicals I can't pronounce and feel that should not be ingested on a regular basis.  Nothing too lofty, just a New Year resolution to eat less processed foods and be more proactive in choosing organic ingredients.  I got the Breadman TR875 2-Pound Breadmaker, Stainless Steel and I have had nothing but great bread.  It was time to try something else after several wonderful loafs of banana bread, white, wheat and gluten-free bread. I love having that option at the touch of a button!

Pizza is an American staple that comes frozen, ready to bake, or delivered.  It must sound Un-American to hear someone say: "I HATE PIZZA!!!", but it is a fact that I have never liked it.  I have only endured having it for dinner out of convenience and because everyone else involved simply loves pizza.  I came to the conclusion that I did not like the dough and/or the toppings regardless of brand or delivery. (thank goodness for hot wings! and bread sticks!) So why? oh why? am I making pizza?. 

The answer is simple: My family loves pizza and I figure that if they are going to eat pizza it might as well have no weird preservatives and we all can have fun making it.

Half & Half
Finished Dough inside the Bread Machine









Part of the following recipe was found on Allrecipes.com and adapted to enhance the flavor of the dough to suit our particular preferences.
The recipe below made a total of 2 pizzas: 
2 - 12"

The speckles you see on this beautiful dough are seasonings added to give the bread flavors that will enhance the toppings and make this mouth-watering meal, a true delight for the palate. *Really liking it!*  I use Tone's Spicy Italian seasoning.  Sam's Club carries it in large containers and it is my "secret" ingredient on mouth-watering spaghetti sauce.


INGREDIENTS
1 cup of flat beer
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Sugar (I prefer less)
1  Teaspoon of non-iodized Salt.
2 1/2 Cups of All purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoon of yeast
1 1/2 Tablespoons of Garlic Powder
1 Tablespoon of Italian Seasonings (you know what you have in your pantry and what flavors you like).

My Breadman requires the liquids to go in first, but different machines require the solids in first, so be sure to add the ingredients according to your machine's recommendations.
Let the machine do all the work and prepare your baking stone or whatever it is you normally use to bake your pizza.   In our case, we simply have 3 pizza pans and aluminum foil so our preparation is fairly simple:

Line the pizza pans with foil and apply a thin layer of Olive Oil with your hands (this keeps your hands oiled to handle the dough).
Resting Period - 15 minutes (Smells Fabulous!)
Place the dough in the middle of the foil lined pan and spread from center towards the edges.  You can get as fancy as you like with the edges, but I left it plain and simple.
Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes.  Come back to it and start doing the fun part of spreading the toppings of your choice.  


Bake the pizza at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or if you have a convection oven, follow your manufacturer's instructions.

Sauce-less Pizza
PIZZA WITHOUT TOMATO SAUCE

Spread half a package of softened Cream cheese first and layer the rest of the toppings as you see fit.
Sauteed Onions and Garlic (Translucently tasty)
Shredded Cheese (your choice)
Feta Cheese
1 can of drained tomatoes (Organic)
Left over turkey (thinly sliced)
Sliced Black Olives
Sauteed Mushrooms
Organic Spinach


HALF & HALF
We decided to make this pizza with a can of organic tomato sauce infused with  garlic, onions and Italian seasonings.
Spread on top of pizza thinly.

Shredded Monterrey Jack and Mild Cheddar
Half with Pepperoni the other half with sauteed mushrooms (with tons of garlic and onions)

I will be making/looking for a Gluten-Free recipe for pizza and will post the results if it turns out as great as these ones did.

Until then, I wish you PEACE


1 comment:

Janice said...

You're making me very hungry Olivia. The Pizzas sound delicious and a good idea.