“This is how you eat pizza fancy,” my eleven year old says, holding his slice up, pinky extended.
“No, it’s not,” says Steve.
“Well, then, how do you do it?”
“With a fork and a knife.”
“AND your pinky lifted,” I add.
My thirteen year old, looking totally confused, says, “Why would anyone eat pizza with a fork?”
I say, “Some people don’t like to eat with their hands,” and he looks at me like I’m speaking Alien.

This is typical dinner conversation in my house—pondering the idiosyncrasies of the world or making up new words (like going through the countries of the world and deciding that all populations are named using the suffix -ish like British: Americish, Canadish, Germish, Italish, Mongolish) or just (lovingly) teasing each other mercilessly. I kinda love sitting down to dinner with this crew (even if I don’t totally love being the one responsible for coming up with it most nights).

But pizza is one thing I never mind making, probably because it’s one of the few meals my whole family will eat, and so it’s something I make on almost a weekly basis. I’ll be honest with you here—because the dough needs to rise for a couple of hours, it takes planning ahead, which I am wholly and unmitigatedly horrible at. But on the days when everything comes together just right and I get the dough thrown together mid-afternoon, we have a dinner that everyone is excited to sit down to.

I don’t know about you, but I am picky about pizza. I mean, I like pizza. A lot. It’s one of those foods that I have to tell myself to stop eating after I’ve had a couple of pieces because even though it tastes soooooo good and I want to eat it all—All—ALL—if I eat another piece I will end up not feeling well.

Sometimes I listen to myself…and sometimes I reach for that extra piece so quickly that I can’t hear the protests of my inner voice beneath the loud “MmmmmmmmohmygodthisisSOgood” sounds I’m making.

But that only happens when it’s good pizza. If it’s meh or downright blerg, I have no trouble saying no. I don’t waste calories on substandard food, my friends. (I’m not counting calories, but I know that they’re there, and I refuse to eat extras if I’m not enjoying them.)

And I’ve got to say that the BEST kind I’ve ever had is the pizza I make at home.

What’s so great about it? Well, the dough, of course, but also the sauce. This is the secret I learned long ago when I first started making pizza at home: the key to great pizza is the sauce. If you choose (or make) a sauce that you L.O.V.E. then, really, you’ve won 99% of the pizza battle.

I discovered the secret of the sauce when I was making crust that was a last-minute kind of deal—mix it up, pop it in the microwave for a quick 5-minute “rise” on low power, then spread it out and bake. And that was solidly good pizza.

But then I stumbled upon Serious Eats one day, and fell down the rabbit hole that is that site. Chock full of cooking chemistry, the hows and whys, the single-mindedness with which they perfect recipes…oh, be still my baking-nerd heart.

And when I saw their recipe for pizza dough, well, I swooned…and then picked myself up off the floor, and made some dough. Of course, the recipe asks you to make the dough a day (or two or five) ahead before baking. Given the fact that I simply lack the ability to plan that far in advance when it comes to dinner, well, I had to make some changes.

So, I beefed it up with some extra nutrition (hello, ground flaxseed!) and softened it slightly by adding some whole wheat flour (I didn’t like how hard to chew it was with only white flour, plus I do love me some whole wheat flour wherever I can substitute it in). And, oh my, is this crust something to behold. That good pizza I was making skyrocketed to great.

For best results, prebake your crust for 6 minutes sans toppings (prebaking guarantees your dough will be sufficiently cooked on the bottom), then throw on your favorite pizza stuffs and bake it again for about 10-12 minutes, until the cheese (if you’re using it) starts to brown and the bottom of the crust is a nice toasty brown (lift it up to look).

For an amazingly delicious vegan pizza, spread the prebaked dough with hummus and top with your favorite vegetables (like sliced tomatoes, artichoke hearts, peppers, etc) or use a vegan mozzarella cheese.

Just a warning: I feel it’s only right and good to tell you that after making your own, takeout pizza will forever pale in comparison. And if you start making pizza on a regular basis, do yourself a favor an get a good pizza cutter. This one is the best pizza cutter I’ve ever had.* It’s great for cutting pizza, brownies, graham crackers, etc. It’s one of my most favorite kitchen tools.

Everyday Pizza Dough

A simple, simply delicious pizza dough recipe, easy enough to make every week.

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 16 minutes minutes

Rising time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 26 minutes minutes

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: pizza

Servings: 3 large pizzas

Ingredients

Volume - Weight

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoons fast-acting yeast
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed (optional, but adds lift to the dough & good nutition)
• 2 cups warm water (feels warm, but not hot)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Making the Dough

• Combine dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl, food processor, or the bowl of your stand mixer. (I prefer the stand mixer over the food processor because the latter requires that you dirty another bowl in which to let the dough rise, and I'm too lazy to want to wash extra dishes.)
• If using the mixer or food processor, turn it on and stream in the water and oil. Turn the mixer speed up to medium as the dough comes together, and then let it run for another minute. Turn it off, sprinkle the dough with some extra flour, and remove the bowl from your mixer. If mixing by hand, add the water and oil and mix with a wooden spoon until gets too difficult. Toss the spoon aside (not literally, of course), and finish the mixing with your hands until you have a soft ball of dough that isn't super sticky. (A little stickiness is okay.)
• Knead the dough in the bowl until it is nice and smooth (only for about a minute). If the dough starts sticking to your hands, simply sprinkle on a little more flour as needed.
• Lift the dough out of the bowl, pour some olive oil into the bottom, then place the dough back in and move it all around in order to coat the bowl and the dough with oil. Flip the dough over to get oil on the other side. Then cover your bowl with plastic wrap or a towel. Let it sit for about two hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Making the Pizza

• Once the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 450 F / 232 C. Oil your baking pans generously (or use a combination of spray oil and a layer of cornmeal). If you like a thinner crust, divide the dough into thirds. If you like your crust thicker, divide it in half. Spread the dough to the outer edges of your pan by pressing it outwards, not stretching it (which makes holes). To help it not stick to the pan as it cooks, once the dough is spread out in your pan, lift it up from one side, then the other (you'll likely have to re-spread it a little after this step).
  
• Prebake the dough for 6 minutes. Then cover it with your pizza makings: sauce, pesto, hummus (trust me on that), mozzarella, veggies, meats, fruits---whatever floats your pizza boat. Bake for another 10-12 minutes, until the bottom of the crust is browned and your toppings are cooked.

Notes

Adapted from Serious Eats Basic New York-Style Pizza Dough recipe.

*The pizza cutter is an Amazon affiliate link. Thanks! Please see the right sidebar for more info.