In the kitchen with Dana... Homemade Pizza!

...kind of like In the Kitchen with Inna except I am hardly as skilled in the kitchen as Inna and I am not going to make you call me The Barefoot Contessa.  The more blogs I visit the more ideas I get for my own blog.  As many of you know, I love to cook and have many wonderful ideas to share.  In an effort to get more 20 something ladies to enjoy cooking, I am going to start and post some of my favorite recipes!  I hope you try them at home and enjoy them as much as I do!

Before you start cooking there are a few things you must do:

• change into comfortable clothes
• put on your slippers
• turn on your favorite iTunes mix

Ok!  Now you are ready to cook!

HOMEMADE PIZZA!

Everyone loves pizza and it really isn't very hard to make at all! 

Here's what you need:

• 1 package of yeast
• 1.5 cups of warm water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3.5 cups of flour
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)
• cheese, sauce, your choice of pizza toppings

Here's what you do:

• Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast and let stand until yeast is dissolved (5-7 minutes)
• Combine flour, olive oil, salt, pepper in a food processor or large bowl.
• Add water/yeast and mix on low for 2 minutes or knead by hand for about 10 minutes.
• Transfer dough to a bowl lightly coated with olive oil, cover with plastic, and place in a warm place so the dough can rise for an 1-1.5 hours. 

• Preheat the oven to 475.
• Once the dough has doubled in size it is ready to make into a pizza!
• Punch the dough and divide in half. (I save one half for another night but you could make two pizzas)
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough in a ball and then use a rolling pin to flatten dough and transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet.

• Add sauce, cheese, and your favorite toppings.

I also added sliced black olives.

I cooked up some pancetta.

• Bake for 15-18 minutes.
• ENJOY!

I LOVE this pizza!  It doesn't look fancy but it sure does taste great.  I hope you try it for yourself.

Now playing... Florance and the Machine

"The Dog Days Are Over"