Homemade Pizza (Dough + Sauce!)

So my sister and her wife do a lot of cute things and have tons of small traditions. One of them is Pizza Friday. My sister-in-law’s favorite food is pizza, so a while ago, they started buying dough from Trader Joe’s to make pizza at home. But once COVID quarantined us all forever, my sister decided she wanted to learn how to make her own dough. Every Friday since March except for maybe two, my sis and her wife have done Pizza Friday and made it a weekly tradition they look forward to. Yes, it’s adorable but more importantly, THE PIZZA IS DAMN GOOD.

These two have perfected the at-home pizza, and they were gracious enough to share their recipe with all of us. All you need is a bomb dough and simple sauce plus all the toppings you want, and you too can have Pizza Fridays!

ALLIE & JILL’S HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH AND SAUCE

This dough recipe yields two balls of dough = two pizzas

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE DOUGH

2 cups of “00” or all purpose flour
2 cups of bread flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning mix
1 envelope instant dry yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups of 110º water (A note: This is important as you don’t want to get the water too hot. A good trick is to split this water into two containers of 3/4 each. One will remain cold/room temperature and the other you will boil in the microwave. Combine the two for the perfect temperature).
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons olive oil

THE SAUCE (from Budget Bytes)

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 6oz. can tomato paste
1/2 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 pinch crushed red pepper

DIRECTIONS:

FOR THE DOUGH

Place the all of the flour, sugar, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, yeast and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer (attach your dough hook) and combine.
While the mixer is running, slowly add the water until it is all mixed in. Then add 2 tablespoons of the oil and beat until the dough forms into a ball. Leave your mixer beating for 5-10 min (really) this is like kneading it.
As it beats and you see the dough is sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is too dry, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
When the dough is done beating take it out onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball.
Grease a large bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, add the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm area (I actually put ours in our half bath with the door closed. It gets warm in there) to let it double in size, about 1 hour.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cover each with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes.
Now you’re ready to roll out your pizza dough! Use a rolling pin and roll it to the desired size and place on a pizza pan.
You can keep these in the fridge tightly wrapped in Press N’ Seal or Saran Wrap AND foil for 5 days. Just make sure you take them out to come to room temp before cooking. You can also keep these in the freezer for quite a while (stored the same way). Take out ~5 hours before you’re ready to use so they have time to defrost.

THE SAUCE

Add the olive oil and garlic to a sauce pot and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic is soft and fragrant.
Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, salt, basil, oregano, some freshly cracked pepper (10-15 cranks of a pepper mill), and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
Cover the pot, allow the pot to come to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low, and let simmer for 15 minutes minimum, or up to 30 minutes.

TO ASSEMBLE:

Add sauce to your rolled out dough, add any and all toppings you heart desires, and bake at 425º for 16-20 minutes depending on desired crispiness!