Cuisine: Italy : Pizza

Homemade Pizza
Making your own pizza is easy as long as you have the right equipment and good ingredients. You don't need to be a "pizzaiolo" or even Italian to make any meal special with a homemade pizza.

The Equipment
Before we even get our hands dirty, let's take stock of our equipment. A pizza peel and pizza stone are essential tools. The peel will make getting the pizza into the oven quick and easy (be sure to follow our helpful hints) and the stone will create crisp crust every time. Too hot to turn on the oven? Use an outdoor pizza stone specially made for the bbq grill. Grilling pizza imparts a subtle flavor that you can't get from a conventional oven.

Additional items to make preparation and serving easy include a rolling pin, garlic press, food mill for smooth tomato sauce, veggie brush, cheese grater or microplane, heavy duty oven mitts and a pizza slicer or kitchen shears. Grab a cookbook dedicated entirely to pizzas to introduce new ideas and ingredients into your creations.

The Dough
If making your pizza dough from scratch sounds too daunting, begin with a ready-made dough available in your regular grocery store. Trader Joe's has great fresh pizza dough and there are also several box mixes to get you started. Some pizza parlors will also sell dough if you ask. Once you get a feel for the dough's consistency you can try your hand at making the dough from scratch.

Basic dough ingredients include flour, salt, yeast and water. Variations on the dough may include garlic, herbs, honey and whole wheat flour. By making dough from scratch you control the quality of ingredients and the final product! There are many recipe books with dough and topping ideas to inspire you.

Whether using from-scratch or pre-made dough, you must let it rest. Set it aside on the pizza peel for at least 20 minutes. Now is a good time to preheat your oven or grill. Sprinkle flour under the dough ball to prevent it from sticking to the peel.

Once your dough has rested, it's time to roll...or pull! If you use a rolling pin, roll from the center of the dough outward, rotating the dough as needed to maintain an even thickness and shape. Flip the dough over, roll and repeat until you are satisfied with the size. Some find it easier to gently pull the dough from the center to shape it, instead of rolling. Find the method that works for you...heck, even toss that dough high into the air. Just make sure you have backup! Once your dough is shaped, don't forget to sprinkle cornmeal underneath it! This is an important element to help the dough slide off the peel and onto the stone. Use a lot as this will prevent the frustration of standing over a hot oven with a pizza stuck on the peel!

The Toppings
Now it's time to top. Tomato based sauces are most common. Make your own or use your favorite jar of spaghetti sauce. Some spaghetti sauces can be a bit watery for pizza. It's helpful to either strain the sauce over a sieve with cheesecloth, or simmer the sauce to remove some of the liquid and concentrate the tomato flavor. Spoon on the desired amount of sauce, but remember too much sauce can make the inside of the dough mushy.

Next comes the cheese. Grate your own or buy pre-grated to save you some time. Some may consider cheese an afterthought but with the right cheese you can elevate your pizza to something spectacular. Mozzarella is the a wonderful base cheese, but feel free to enhance with more flavorful Italian cheeses such as parmesan or fontina. Use smoked Gouda for a hickory flavor, pepper jack cheese for a bit of heat, or add fresh mozzarella to the top of the pizza for a creamy indulgence.

Traditional Italian pizzas are light on toppings...cheese, fresh tomato, fresh basil and a garlic make up the toppings for margarita pizza. If you like mushrooms, saute them first to reduce their water content. Combine cremini mushrooms (small brown ones, aka baby portabellos), thinly sliced onions and chopped garlic for a great vegetarian topping. Saute the mushrooms and onions until they have reduced in volume and the onions are soft and add fresh garlic at the end so as not to overcook it. Add sliced red or green bell peppers to the saute pan along with the onions and mushrooms for an additional flavor boost. Sausage should be cooked however pepperoni and salami can go straight onto the pizza.

The Waiting Game
Even though you're more than halfway there, cooking your pizza might seem like the longest part of the process! Once your pizza is ready for the oven or grill, quickly slide it onto the pizza stone. This is where all that cornmeal comes in handy! Once the cheese is bubbly and the crust is crispy, carefully remove your pizza stone from the oven. But wait! Leave it alone for 5 minutes before cutting into it. Walk away and clean some dishes or pour yourself a glass of chianti while you wait.

Move the pizza to a cutting board and slice. Leaving the pizza on the stone is fine too as it will keep the crust crispy and the pizza hot. Use kitchen shears to cut the slices, as a sharp blade on the stone will damage it.

The Alternatives
Get creative with your pizza sauce and toppings. Use alfredo sauce or basil pesto instead of tomato sauce and add precooked shrimp or chicken for a twist. The flavor combinations are limitless! Make it fun for the whole family when you let each person pick toppings for individual pizzas.

Beyond traditional pizza, use the crust to make a calzone. Cut your pizza dough into two or three portions and roll each out to a small circle. Fill half the disc with your toppings and sauce and then fold over the other half. Crimp the edges with a fork. Cook for 15 or 20 minutes at 375ºF until the crust puffs up and turns golden brown.

Use the same pizza dough to make appetizers. Roll out the crust and use a round cookie cutter to make small crusts. Top with any pizza toppings. For these small bites, less is more. Use two or three flavorful ingredients (try gorgonzola and carmelized onions) and you'll have an instant crowd pleaser.

Don't think pizza is only for savory dishes. Try a dessert pizza using carmelized apples or peaches, add almonds for crunch and use a sugar glaze instead of sauce. Saute sliced apples with butter and brown sugar. Mix confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) with water or fruit juice to make the glaze. Brush the glaze onto the dough, add the fruit and top with sliced almonds.

TIP: GiftStashers, create a registry called Pizza and save choices there until you're ready to buy.