I love making homemade pizza from scratch. There is just something about having pizza and knowing that you have made it. It’s a fun way to get your kids in the kitchen cooking and to spend some quality time chatting about what is going on in their lives. Making pizza is one of my daughter’s favorite times together.
We started making homemade pizza one afternoon for a homeschool lesson. We were finishing a series on home ec and our last and final food was pizza. Since that time we have made several different pizza versions. One of our favorite pizza versions is BBQ Chicken Pizza. It is SO good! My personal favorite pizza is a Cheeseburger Pizza. Yes– it tastes just like a burger, but in pizza form. It is SO freaking delicious!
No pizza is good though if the crust is not just as good. This recipe here is my very favorite and I use it for all my pizza recipes. It is a no fail crust and will have you making delicious pizzas in no time flat!
- 2½ cups of bread flour
- 1 package of dry yeast
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup of warm water
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Honey for drizzling
- cornmeal for dusting
- In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour, yeast and salt. Stir in water and oil into the mixture.
- Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on a floured surface until elastic — about 4-6 minutes.
- Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Lightly oil the pizza pan and sprinkle with cornmeal.
- Divide the dough into 2 parts and roll out to desired thickness.
- Drizzle the dough with a small amount of honey for your liking
- Top with pizza toppings.
- Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes depending on the thickness of your crust.
What will be your first pizza recipe that you create?
Last year I made a delicious Healthy Chicken Salad using cucumbers and dill that reminded me of a greek dish of some sort. I have been trying since then to create a pita recipe that will put that recipe over the top. The day I made that, I wrapped it in a tortilla, but I really wanted to do Pita bread.
I can finally say that I am successful 
Making your own homemade pita bread is not hard at all. In fact, it tastes SO much better than store bought. You will want to fill these pockets with just about everything, so get to cooking your own!
Homemade pitas are super easy to make and will save you a ton of money at the grocery store.
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 packet yeast (2-1/4 tsp)
- 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- In a stand mixer, add the yeast in with the flour, salt, and honey. Add the olive oil and 1 1/4 cup water and using the dough attachment, mix together on low speed. All of the ingredients should form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water.
- Once all of the ingredients form a ball, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes on speed 2.
- When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the ball of dough around in the bowl so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.
- When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while you are preheating the oven. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.
- After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick - 6 inches in diameter. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before trying again.
- Place discs on a lightly greased baking sheet or on your stone and let rise, uncovered, until barely doubled in thickness, about 30-45 minutes.
- Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, but it isn’t necessary.
I don’t think I will ever buy another round of Little Cesar bread sticks again! I made these last week to go with a pasta dish we were having and I will say that these were scrumptious.
Even though I overcooked mine for about 10 minutes by accident.
They are supposed to be very soft and delicious. They are that, mine were just a bit crunchy, but they were still awesome!
Ingredients
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dry parsley (optional, for decoration)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)
1 more teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Add the flour, salt, garlic powder, baking powder, and parsley together.
Add the milk and stir until you get a nice ball of dough.
Knead the dough for a few minutes. If it is sticky, just add a little extra flour.
Lay dough out on the counter or on a piece of wax paper or butcher paper.
Roll out the dough to fit your pan (mine is a 13×9).
Place the butter in the pan and melt it in the oven. You can sprinkle the extra garlic and salt in the butter if you want, but I did not.
lay your rectangle of dough into the butter. Cut it into strips and then in half.
Place breadsticks in the oven for about 20 minutes. I sprinkled mine with parmesean cheese for the last few minutes of baking.
This recipe was adapted and changed a little from the original recipe at Hillbilly Housewife.
This post is linked to Tip Me Tuesday, Anti Procrastination Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Shutter Love Tuesday, and Tasty Tuesday.
I am still totally amazed that I made these and that they taste SO darn good! I love soft pretzels but hate the price. . .who doesn’t?
I found this recipe from the weird dude on Food Network. . . yeah, Alton Brown. I love his show. He is so knowledgable about food!
Anyway, here is his yummy recipe for these delectable pretzels. The cheese is a packaged cheese sauce that I got from our little Amish store. Goes so good with these things, but a good mustard would too.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
- 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
- Vegetable
oil, for pan - 10 cups water
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
- Pretzel salt
Directions
Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Hi! I am Jen--a wife to the most amazing man ever and a homeschool mom to one teenager. I just graduated my oldest.
I have been blogging since 2007. I love to watch movies, spend time in the kitchen, crochet, dance, drink coffee, and lay on the beach. Between recipes, reviews, and hilarious life story moments you'll find many helpful posts on this blog. Welcome, pull up a chair and stay for a while!
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