Mamma Mia!

I remember many evenings growing up where my family attempted to make homemade pizza. It was always a fun event where we got to roll out the pre-made pizza dough, spoon the pizza sauce from a can onto the dough, then pick out all our favourite toppings. I always thought this pizza was the best…but my young taste buds were so wrong. My husband and I tried to re-create this childhood memory and the pizza was chewy, the sauce bland, and the pizza just never cooked evenly.

Well, this was before I ever heard of a pizza stone. This is my pizza savior! My mother-in-law got us one for Christmas this year and we finally got to use it recently. Keep in mind that I did make my own pizza dough and sauce from scratch to fully experience the potential of the stone. And my efforts really paid off! We ended up making 3 pizzas, One for me, one for my friend Amy and one meaty delight for my husband. We were all in heaven!

Jenn’s Whole Wheat Pizza Dough:

1 Pkg of Active Dry Yeast

1 ½ Cups Warm Water

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

2 ½ Cups White Flour

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Dash of Sea Salt

I use my lovely Kitchenaid mixer to make this, with the dough hook attachment. This machine is a godsend!

In your mixer bowl add the yeast to the warm water. Let it mellow for about 10 minutes until your yeast dissolves and starts to bubble and foam up.

It should look like this

While the yeast is doing its thing, mix the rest of the dry ingredients and olive oil in a bowl.

Take a look at these totally cute measuring cups I got for Christmas as well

Right after I took this photo I knocked them both on the floor and they shattered...RIP cute measuring cups.



 When the yeast is ready, add the dry ingredients to the yeast and mix on medium speed until the dough starts to come together.

 Turn out your dough onto your clean, lightly floured surface and start to knead.

 Ready use though muscles and knead for 10 straight minutes.The dough should be pretty smooth and a little tacky. Not sticky.

Lightly oil (Olive Oil) your mixer bowl and put the dough back in the bowl. Make sure the dough is lightly coated with the oil and cover with a clean dish towel.

 Put your bowl in a nice warm spot for the next hour and a half to rise. I read a tip online that if you pre-heat your oven for about a minute and turn it off, you can keep your bowl in the oven to rise and the oven will keep it pretty warm. I did this and it worked like a charm!

While this is rising..its time to make your sauce!

Jenn’s Homemade Pizza Sauce:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Garlic Cloves, Minced

1 (28 Ounce) Low Sodium Tomato Puree

1 Tsp dried Marjoram

1 Tsp dried Basil

Salt and Ground Pepper

On medium heat, heat the oil in a saucepan until hot. Add all ingredients and cover until it reaches a boil. Lower heat to low and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Set aside.

So by now your dough should look like this…

Nice and plump and quadrupled in size. Punch down the dough and divide into thirds. Take the sections and roll into balls. Let it rest covered by the dishtowel for about 10 minutes. I prepared all my toppings at this point.

Take your Pizza stone and grease it with olive oil. Sprinkle some corn meal on it as well. Now take your dough ball and start working it by using your finger tips to stretch it out on your working surface. Similar to pushing dents into the dough.

 Keep on stretching the dough until it reaches your desired thickness. We like thin crust so ours was fairly thin. Place the dough on the stone. Add your sauce and favourite toppings and bake in a pre-heated oven at 450F for about 12 minutes.

Voila!

Here is my Margarita Pizza with buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil and tomato slices

Amy chose Pineapple, Tomato, Green Peppers and Mozzarella

My husband wanted meat. And well..he got 4 kinds and green peppers. No picture of his though…he ate it before I got a chance!

Enjoy!