I used to hate homemade pizza and clearly I was the problem, well it may have been my recipes too, but I just didn’t like it. I felt like the jarred sauce in the store was never as good as the real deal and the crust was too flat or too bland. And of course the cheese was never the problem because cheese melted is always awesome. Always. But then Cade and I really started experimenting and we totally fell in love with a few recipes like this creamy pesto chicken, our favorite 4 cheese margherita and now this Little Italy Homemade Pizza.
I really think it was probably the company that put us all in such a good mood that we were able to make such an amazing pizza, but I wont argue if you want to say it’s thanks to the ingredients. We had so much fun with our friends who’s pretty picture is to the left. Do you see them? Have you checked out their site? They are trying to adopt and word of mouth is what makes it happen so please remember them if you hear of anyone in need!!! Anyway, It starts off with our new favorite crust thanks to my cute cousin and our famous pizza sauce. Yes, it’s famous. Probably just in our family but it does go crazy on pinterest so there.
One very, very important step is actually what should be happening while you make the pizza sauce. And FYI, we make ours every month and freeze it in bags or store in jars in the fridge to use over the next two weeks. Anyway, you want to get the caramelized onions and peppers going because they take almost an hour to cook. But don’t have a heart attack, you really just plop them into a pan and walk away only stirring every 5-10 minutes. And a stainless pan is essential as it allows the fond or little caramelized bits to form. Anyway, let it sit and get yummy.
Next we pinch off and roll into balls spicy Italian sausage and cook it up in a pan then set it aside on a paper towel to drain off excess grease. Now, assemble with sauce, mozzarella, sausage, pepperoni, caramelized onions and peppers and bake the whole thing. Oh! Don’t forget to place your pizza stone in the oven while it’s heating to 500 degrees (not broil). An extremely hot pan is key for a good pizza. No cold pans allowed. Then brush with a little oil and corn meal to get moving. After baking, sprinkle with sliced sun dried tomatoes and enjoy!
Can Pizza Dough Be Made Ahead of Time?
Pizza dough can actually be made the night before.
Cover the divided dough balls in plastic wrap as soon as they’ve finished the first rising.
Store the balls in the fridge overnight.
Is Spaghetti Sauce and Pizza Sauce the Same Thing?
You can use spaghetti sauce on a pizza.
Pizza sauce is usually uncooked canned tomato, with a touch of basil, oregano, salt, and sometimes garlic.
Spaghetti sauce has more onion and garlic, more herbs, and has been cooked for a few hours.
But, you can use pasta sauce instead of pizza sauce.
How Do You Reheat Pizza?
The best way to reheat pizza and keep the crisp crust is to heat a skillet on medium-high for a minute, add the pizza, cover loosely with a lid, and cook 2 to 3 minutes.
Pizza can also be reheated in the oven.
Heat a foil-lined cookie sheet in a 450°F oven until hot (high heat makes the crust crispy).
Arrange slices on the sheet and heat 10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.
Little Italy Homemade Pizza
Little Italy Homemade Pizza
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 4 3/4 Cup flour, 24oz by weight
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 Cups warm water, 16.5oz by weight
Pizza Sauce
To assemble
- cornmeal
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, or more, grated
- 1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage, pinched into very small balls and cooked
- pepperoni
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes , packed in oil
Caramelized Onions and Peppers
- 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Instructions
- The key to a good dough is weighing your ingredients. Trust me it makes a difference, but measuring will work ok if needed.
- Stir flour, yeast and sugar together.
- Then stir in salt. (salt kills yeast, so you shouldn't let it touch directly)
- Stir in water. Stir JUST until all flour is absorbed. NO KNEADING.
- Cover dough in olive oil or canola oil.
- Let rise 30 -60 minutes.
- You can cover in saran wrap in the fridge and then let rest on the counter for 20 minutes if needed.
For the caramelized veggies
- In a stainless steel pan over medium heat, add the butter and oil then the onions and peppers. It will be a full pan, but don't worry.
- Stir everything together and then allow to start cooking.
- If it's browning the edges too fast turn down your heat.
- Allow to cook for 40-60 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes.
- Keep turning down the heat if the onions are browning too quickly.
- You'll want to scrape up the bottom and remember, brown is good as we want it to caramelize but turning brown in the first few minutes is too fast. Slow and steady for these guys.
To assemble
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and heat to 475 degrees.
- Once the oven is hot, sprinkle a little cornmeal on the counter and stretch (do not roll with a rolling pin) the dough into 2 pizzas.
- Pull out your pizza pan and brush with a small amount of oil and a little sprinkling of cornmeal.
- Moving quickly, put the stretched out dough on the pan, spread a little sauce, sprinkle with cheese then add the pepperoni, sausage, peppers and onions.
- Bake until the cheese and crust are beginning to brown.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sun dried tomatoes.
Notes
Nutrition
Recommended Products
Heather
Will the water for the crust need to be heated so it will not kill the yeast?
Sweet Basil
Yes, the recipe says “warm water”. That will help the yeast activate. Great question!
Amber
what kind of yeast does this recipe call for? I usually need to proof my yeast, since it isn’t instant. Will this affect the recipe overall?
Sweet Basil
Hi Amber, we prefer instant but either yeast can be used as we proof both kinds as a way to make sure we never use dead yeast. 🙂
Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
ooooh! This pizza looks crispy and full of tasty toppings!
Jena
We do pizza night at home for Monday night football… this looks like a definite winner!
Sweet Basil
Thanks so much Jena!
Erin | The Law Student’s Wife
I love homemade pizza night, and this classic combo is hard to beat! The hubs will propose all over again if I make this, I’m positive 😉
Sweet Basil
And no one could hate a second proposal!
Gaby
This is what I need for dinner tonight! Really awesome!
Sweet Basil
You would totally love it!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes)
This pizza is my dream pizza. I need it!
Sweet Basil
Thanks SO much Jocelyn