Pizza

O pizza cravings, I wish you would leave me be.

I can no longer watch Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives without needing to make pizza this minute, right now, or someone call for delivery I need pizza! Pizza is one of my most favorite foods, it's up there with chocolate. I know, I know, chocolate has a competitor in my world.

I used to dream of having a pizza oven in my kitchen, I just wanted that wood oven pizza taste and crust.

Why does pizza taste so good from a wood burning pizza oven? Maybe it's the handmade crust, or the roasted toppings, or for the fact it doesn't come out of a box with greasy stains. Fresh is always better.

I know each time I would order it at a restaurant it never would be a perfect circle. Sometimes the crust would be falling off the plate and it would resemble more of a square than circle. The art of pizza, now that would be a winning coffee table book.

The edges would be a little dark, the cheese nicely brown, and always piping hot. Each bite, delicious. Something I could not recreate at home...until now.

Luckily I was able to put my blueprints away for "project pizza kitchen" when I learned how to properly use my baking stone. I no longer order pizza, I make it and it's perfect. Took a few tries, there was many oven cleaning days at first but I have mastered the pizza cooking/baking/eating skill.

First off buy a pizza stone. If you do not have one, well than I am sorry, go buy one. You will also need a pizza peel as well or use the underside of a cookie sheet but I recommend the peel.

I love two types of hot stones, hot stone massages and hot stone pizza pans. As you can see mine is very well used. Place your pizza stone in a cold oven, close and p

reheat to 500 degrees. Let the oven preheat as well as the stone for 1 hour. Once preheated do not touch your stone, this is a hot brick and will burn right through a oven mitt.

As your oven and stone preheat, you can roll out your dough.

Add your toppings. When it comes to toppings, the less is more does not apply to pizza in my house.

Now here is the tricky part. Carefully using any large spatula and your hands place the pizza on a very well floured pizza peel. Than carefully slide your pizza onto the hot stone in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes if it's a thin crust and 13 minutes if it's a little thicker crust. Do not change the temperature of the oven.

Once the pizza is cooked carefully with tongs (that is what I use) slide your pizza back onto the peel and place on the table. Stand back and take a bow as your family gasps in delight.

Here's the recipe

Pizza Dough

Adapted by: All Recipes.com

• 1 pkg active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 cups bread flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp white sugar

• In mixing bowl combine yeast and warm water until yeast is dissolved.
• Add bread flour, oil, salt, and sugar and mix until soft dough is formed
• Cover and let rise for 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size
• Turn out on floured surface and roll out

I like to divide my dough in half and make two thin crust pizzas but this dough will make one large pizza if you do not divide it.

Pizza Sauce

• 1 can of tomato sauce (15 oz)
• 1 can of tomato paste (6 oz)
• oregano, to taste
• basil, to taste
• red pepper flakes, to taste

Mix and spread over uncooked pizza dough. Decorate with toppings