Favorite Frugal Meals: Homemade Pizza

Homemade pizza is hands-down one of our favorite family dinners.  It's also extremely frugal and healthy, too!  I just need to remember to start the dough in the afternoon, so it has time to rise before baking.

Here is my basic dough recipe.  This is adapted from the cookbook that came with my food processor, but you don't even need to own a food processor to make it.  

In a 2-cup measure, add 2 cups lukewarm water, 1 Tablespoon yeast,  1-2 teaspoons honey or sugar, and 1-2 teaspoons olive oil or other vegetable oil.  Mix vigorously with a whisk or fork. 

Add 6 cups all purpose flour (or 3 cups white flour and 3 cups whole-wheat flour) to work bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt.   If you like more salt, use 1 - 2 teaspoons, but we prefer less salt in our food than you usually get in restaurant pizza.  I will also add a little more if I am using unsalted tomato sauce (later).

With food processor running, add liquids slowly, as quickly as the flour will absorb it.  Once it is all combined, a nice ball of dough should form.  You can add a little more flour or water if needed to adjust the consistency.  Let the machine run 30 seconds more to knead.  

This whole process takes about 5 minutes max.   Now, just pop the top of the food processor off, and I let it rise in the work bowl.  This is what it looks like after about 45 minutes.  It will rise more slowly in cold weather.

I made a really simple pizza sauce using one 8-oz. can of tomato sauce (free with a coupon.)  To it, I added a couple of handfuls of basil and oregano from our garden.  The fresh herbs taste so wonderful.   If you don't have fresh herbs, just use 1 T. of oregano or Italian seasoning.

Once dough has risen, divide your dough and flatten it on the pans.  You do not need a special pan to cook pizza.  We were given a pizza pan for a wedding gift (over 16 years ago!) so I use that, plus a glass pie pan, plus two pizzas on a baking sheet!  Use whatever you have.  I just flatten it out with my fingers.  I don't roll it (or toss it - ha ha ha.)

Add your sauce, cheese, and toppings.  This time, we just had the fresh herbs, pepperoni, and ham.  Other times, we use bell pepper, olives, mushrooms, green onions, pineapple, or broccoli.  I usually use whatever I have on hand.

This much dough and sauce makes enough pizza for our family of five, and normally we have some left over for 1-2 people for lunch another day.  

Yummmm...