Pizza!

Boyfriend and I's biggest weakness is without a doubt pizza. If we had lots and lots of money and the ability to somehow consume it without taking in all those calories, we would probably have it four or five times a week.

What's not to love? Bread covered in tomato sauce, cheese, and meat. Or veggies. Or both. Those are like, all of my favorite things.

I've been working on perfecting my pizza recipe for years, and I think I've finally got it. I will say that in order to make this pizza absolutely the best it can be, you should use a pizza stone. It's a worthy investment that can be used for bread and other baked goods, too.

First, proof some yeast in water and a little bit of sugar.

Then add some salt, garlic powder, olive oil, and Italian seasoning. Using the dough hook on your standing mixer, add in 2 1/2 - 3 cups of flour. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and not be sticky.

Then use the dough hook to knead the dough for about four minutes. Let it rest for three minutes, then knead for another four. I love my KitchenAid because it does all the work for me. Thank you, KitchenAid.

Coat a bowl with olive oil and add the dough. Turn it to coat. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and let it rise until doubled in size- about an hour.

Now we get to a more fun part- the sauce! I like to let my sauce cook slowly for a long time, so I usually started as soon as I've set the dough aside to rise. I start with one can of tomato sauce.

I like thicker tomato sauce, so I add a can of tomato paste to thicken it.

Then I add salt, minced garlic, onion powder, Italian seasoning, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Because everything should have a kick.

When the dough is ready, roll it on out. Wanna know a secret? I don't have a rolling pin. And I don't really want one. I just roll it out by hand and it works for me. It looks... rustic... or something.

Spread on the tomato sauce, then top it with your choice of cheeses. I'm using fresh mozzarella, parmesan, and a little tiny bit of cheddar.

We wanted a meaty pizza, so we topped ours with pepperoni and Italian salami, but you can use whatever you want! And I always finish my pizzas off with a sprinkling of more Italian seasoning.

To assemble the pizza, I preheat the pizza stone in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Then I gently pick up the dough and transfer it the stone and assemble the toppings as quickly as I can on the hot stone. I only do it this way because I'm too scared to attempt to move a topped raw pizza onto a screaming hot stone. And that's that.

Then it goes into the 450 degree oven for 15 minutes, and it's done! Using a pizza stone means you don't have to cook the crust first and it results in a more evenly cooked pizza. Getch yoself one!

I consider this dough recipe to be near perfect because it manages to achieve that chewy-on-the-inside but crispy-on-the-outside crust, and that's my ideal.

Pizza Crust

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 - 3 cups flour

Directions
1. Gently whisk the water, yeast, and sugar together. Let sit until proofed and foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and olive oil and mix until combined.
3. Using the dough hook on your standing mixer, slowly add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is no longer sticky.
4. Using the dough hook, knead the dough for four minutes. Let rest for three minutes. Knead for another four minutes.
5. Coat a bowl with olive oil, add the dough, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and let rise until doubled, about one hour.
6. Preheat an oven to 450 degrees. Put your pizza stone in the oven and let sit for 20 minutes.
7. When done rising, roll the dough out until 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Move the rolled dough to the pizza stone and top with pizza sauce, cheese, and desired topping. Bake in 450 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is melted.

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan over low heat. Taste and adjust as necessary.
2. Let cook over low heat for at least 20 minutes, up to an hour.