Mushroom and Pepperoni Pizza

My safety net in cooking has always been homemade pizza. My dad introduced me to the joys of assembling my own pizza when I was just eight years old. Back then we did just the basics: just-add-water pizza dough topped with ground hamburger and a bunch of cheese. In high school I moved on to making my own pizza crust and experimenting with new toppings. Ham, pineapple, turkey pepperoni, mushrooms, olives...it's all so delicious!

Before going in the oven.

I start by mixing in one package of active dry yeast with 3 cups flour and 2 teaspoons salt. Then I add in 1 cup lukewarm water (about 85 F) and 2 tablespoons olive oil.

The dough gets kneaded just lightly. The dough should be soft and elastic. After a few minutes of kneading I let it sit in a covered and oiled bowl for an hour or two. Once doubled it gets punched down, then I let it sit for another 20 minutes.

The dough is very easy to stretch out. Round, square, thick or thin, the dough is very malleable. Right before I cook it, I like to swipe a little bit of olive oil on the crust to add flavor. Sometimes I add a little drizzle of parmesan cheese on the crust as well. Any toppings work well. Last night I used turkey pepperoni and mushrooms. But be careful: if you use too heavy of toppings you may need to cook the crust on it's own for a minute or two. The pizza cooks at 450 F for about 15 minutes. 

After cooking. Looks so yummy

When I'm absolutely stumped for dinner ideas I throw together a pizza. My boyfriend absolutely loves when I make it, and so do our dogs. They know they'll get some pizza crust, or leftover slices of pepperoni.

Pizza is one of my favorite meals, both to cook and to eat. Always simple, always delicious.