…Pizza pie is one of the most popular foods in the county.

With so many variations and toppings, there’s pretty much something to suit everyone’s taste.

Billions and billions of dollars are spent at local pizzerias every year. Pickup or delivery. Thick crust or thin. Veggie or loaded with meat.

If you want it, you can make a pizza out of it.

Recently, we’ve started making our own pizzas at home.

Jason has come up with some pretty funky toppings but all of them have been pretty good.

Pizzas are not hard to make, but they’re not easy either.

The dough can be fickle. Mix it too much and it’s gummy. Don’t mix it enough and it’s gummy.

There’s a fine line you have to walk to get a perfect pizza dough.

I don’t know if Jason’s is perfect but I know it’s good.

Here’s his secret recipe, which isn’t much of a secret anymore.

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1 cup warm tap water

2 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons white sugar

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. It will begin to smell a little like baking bread.

In a large bowl, combine two cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a ball and roll out into a pizza shape. The shape of your pizza will be determined by the shape of your pan.

Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

We’ve enjoyed playing with toppings and sauce combinations and I would encourage you to do the same. There’s nothing wrong with a pepperoni pizza but there are millions of other things out there that make a pretty good pizza too. Rolling some leftovers across pizza dough is a also a tasty way to dispose of them. We had a Thanksgiving pizza last week that was incredible.

 

Tiffany Cannon is a field editor for Taste of Home Magazine and owner of 2ate9 Bakery and Catering in Demopolis.