Pizza satisfies a hungry family or a room full of party guests and it is a healthy meal option. So, don’t call for delivery: make a homemade version and be ready for the compliments and requests for another slice. Pizza is a dish that can be easily modified to suit various preferences and any picky eaters. Use a store-bought dough to make this meal even quicker to prepare.
Feel free to experiment with the toppings suggested below and create a new family favourite. Feta cheese, mushrooms, green peppers, cooked Italian sausage, pesto, onions, or sliced ham all make great additions to this basil and pepperoni pizza. If desired, serve a soup such as Basil Minestrone for an appetizer. And for dessert, Strawberry Shortcake makes a nice after-dinner treat. This recipe makes two 12" pizzas.
Basil and Pepperoni Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza Dough:
- 1-1/2 cups warm water
- 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast
- 3-1/2 cups flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
Pizza Toppings:
- Olive oil
- 2/3 cup tomato sauce, 1/3 each per pizza
- 1/3 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup Pepperoni, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup Basil, fresh, torn into small pieces
Directions
Pizza Dough:
- Pour the warm water into a large bowl
- Sprinkle the yeast onto the water and let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast is frothy
- Stir to dissolve completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes
- Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt and sugar
- Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes
- Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil
- Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil & cover with a wet tea towel
- Let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours
Pizza Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 450°F
- Remove tea towel from over the dough; punch the dough down
- Divide the dough in half, forming two balls
- Place each ball into its own bowl, re-cover with a tea towel and then let rest for 10 minutes
- Take one ball of dough and flatten it on a lightly floured work surface
- Starting at the center and working outwards, press the dough to ½” thick
- Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further
- Let the dough relax for 5 minutes, then continue to stretch it until it reaches 12” in diameter
- Using your palm, flatten the edge of the dough
- Pinch the edges to form a lip
- Brush the pizza dough with olive oil
- Using your fingertips, make dents in the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling
- Let rest another 5 minutes
- Repeat with the above steps for the second ball of dough
- Sprinkle a baking sheet or pizza pan with cornmeal
- Transfer one flattened pizza dough to the baking sheet
- Spoon on the tomato sauce, sprinkle with cheese, add the sliced pepperoni and torn basil
- Bake pizzas, one at a time, until the crust is brown and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes.