Home made pizza

I had a goal this winter to learn to make yeast dough and I think I finally have it! 

This is my home made pizza recipe that my boys love!

I make my own sauce for a couple of reasons:

1. I don't like canned pizza sauce.

2. It's usually LOADED with sodium!

This is what I start with for the pizza sauce:

I like to use the tomato paste that already has the oregano and basil in it, but the store was out.

This batch will make enough for 6 pizza's. I only use 1 cup per pizza and make 2 pizzas at a time.
 I bag up two cups of sauce per freezer bags and save the rest. ( it thaws quickly)

The paste will thicken the puree nicely. This sauce only has 35mg of sodium!

To make my crust, I start with a small amount of warm, not hot, water in a cup. Keep in mind to decrease the water in the recipe to compensate for this. I add a little sugar and 1 packet of quick rise yeast. Let that sit for about 5 min or until foamy. If it doesn't get foamy in 5-10 minutes, the yeast is too old!

I start with my liquid ingredients first:

1/4 c oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

Yeast water

Add 1/2 cup of flour at a time.Mix well with a wire whisk until it looks like pancake batter. Keep adding flour by 1/2 c increments until you get to 2 1/2 c.

Knead dough in bowl until you can turn it out onto the counter top. Continue to knead for a GOOD 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth. 

Spray cooking spray in the same bowl and place dough inside. Spray the dough as well and cover with plastic wrap while rising. I let this rise for about an hour.

Punch down and roll out onto greased pizza pan. Spread 1 c sauce on top. Use your favorite toppings for your pizza. 

To finish, I melt 1/4 cup butter and add fresh garlic. Brush on the edges of your pizza before baking in a 400 oven.