Why is homemade pizza so gosh darn delicious?!
First off, let me just disclose that I'm a pizza addict. I cannot go more than 9 days without it. Most of my "cheat" days revolve around pizza. If you name a crust I've probably tried to make it before. If you call toast with marinara sauce, cheese and pepperoni on it pizza, I have also probably slapped you because THAT AIN'T IT.
I made this recipe on Sunday I think, and all I want right now is more pizza.
When I make food at home I generally make things from scratch at least 80% of the way. So for pizza I do generally make my own dough. I make it in the bread machine, but it can be done by hand or by a kitchenaid as well. I always use the same recipe and tweak it for my particular needs that day.
For this recipe, I *read Cody, my wonderful husband who helps me prep food* used only whole wheat flour, extra water and extra oil. I find without that extra moisturizer the dough is too thick and the texture is all wrong for pizza dough. Making the dough takes a little bit over an hour, and it can be kept in an oiled bowl, covered, in the refrigerator for a few days if you don't need to use it right away. Also, I can typically get two pizzas from one recipe! Which definitely helps feed my pizza addiction. :)
The ingredients I use to make my Greek Pizza are artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, spinach, garlic, red onions, tomato, feta and mozzarella cheese. I used Wegman's Marinara sauce for the base.
One step that I find very important, is to saute the garlic and spinach before assembling the pizza. This way the spinach doesn't dry out in the oven and the garlic has started to cook and release its flavor ahead of time.
Another step that I highly recommend is to heat up whatever you are cooking the pizza on in the oven while you preheat the oven. It helps to reduce the dough sticking to the pan and it makes for a crisp bottom crust. I love my pizza stone, so I use that and top it with some corn meal right before placing the dough on top. I also use sheet pans when I feel like having a thicker Sicilian style pizza.
At this point, the dough has been shaped, has had a few minutes to rest, the oven and pizza stone are preheat and it's time to assemble the pizza! After laying down some corn meal and putting the dough on the stone. Start with the base. Use a spoon to scoop it into the center of the dough and the back of the spoon to spread it all over the pizza. Leave space on the edges for the crust. Now apply the toppings! Simple as that! Throw it in the oven. Give it about 15-30 minutes depending on how high the temperature is. I've been cooking pizza at 350 degrees, which takes between 20-30 minutes for the cheese to look perfectly melted and beginning to turn golden, but many people are adamant that pizza should be cooked at a high temperature for a short period of time. I'm just hear to say if it's cooked through, then it's ready to eat. How you got there is your own business.
This is what it looks like when it's finished cooking!
All that's left is to let it cool for a few minutes before slicing up (to make sure the cheese stays more in place) and eat this bad boy up!
Greek Pizza
Ingredients:
Pizza Dough
1 Cup Marinara Sauce
1/2 a Block of Mozzarella Cheese, Grated
A Handful of Feta Cheese
5 Artichoke Heart Quarters, Sliced
4-10 Kalamata Olives, Pitted and Halved
1/2 a Bag of Spinach
4 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1/2 Red Onion, Sliced
1 Plum Tomato, Sliced
Corn Meal
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, put pizza stone in oven to preheat as well.
Saute the spinach and the garlic on medium heat until the spinach has wilted and the garlic is fragrant. Set aside to cool.
Arrange all the ingredients so they are accessible. And roll out the dough on a floured surface to desired shape and thickness.
When the oven is preheated. Take the pizza stone out of the oven and sprinkle it with corn meal. Place the dough on top of the stone. Using a spoon, put some marinara in the center of the pizza. Use the back of the spoon to spread it around, leaving space for the crust. After spreading the desired amount of sauce, start assembling the rest of the ingredients onto the pizza. Starting with the cheese and adding the rest however desired.
Pop the pizza back in the oven, and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the crust is properly hard and the cheese begins to golden.
When done, leave on the counter to rest for a few minutes before slicing and eating.
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