Homemade Pizza

Yep, it's homemade pizza night.  Except for the crust.  I cheated.  I bought it.  But it's just like homemade.  :o)  This time I got it from Trader Joe's, but I've also bought it at the regular grocery store.  Boboli-style crusts will work in a pinch. 


Here's the dough:

Once you get it out of the bag, I find it works best to let it set on a floured surface for about 1/2 hour before trying to mess with it.  And my personal preference is to ignore the rolling pin and just use my fingers.  It takes a minute to get the hang of it, but once you've got it, it's pretty easy to shape.  I grab it and let it hang, while rotating it, to stretch itself out.  Then once it's on the pan, I use my fingertips to spread it out.  Breaking it up into smaller sections makes it even easier.  Think, individual pizzas. 


Here it is "resting":

Looks kinda creepy, doesn't it?

At this point, if it's summer, or April in your neck of the woods is warmer than here, you can brush some olive oil and seasonings on it and throw it on a hot grill for a couple minutes until the bottom is brown and bubbly.  Then, load your toppings on the cooked side and throw it back on, raw side down, and cook it a few more minutes until it's done.  Nothin' quite like pizza on the grill.  Good stuff.  Unfortunately, it's still pouring down rain here, so I did mine in a 450 degree oven.  I put the toppings on and cooked them for about 10 minutes. 

Here they are before entering the oven:

Now obviously, you can put whatever you like on your pizza.  I used what I had and what I like.  For both of them, I didn't use a red sauce and instead, brushed the crust with olive oil.  I also sprinkled garlic powder on the plain, whole wheat crust.  Then I sprinkled grated mozzarella on both of them.  For one, I added salami, fresh tomato, and feta.  I added fresh basil once it was out of the oven.  For the other, I added salami on half and sprinkled the whole thing with Beechers smoked cheddar.

Here they are out of the oven:

 

We had it with a big, mixed green salad.


Here it is on my plate: