Homemade Pizza Inspired by Bon Appétit Magazine!

Like most Americans, I LOVE pizza. As a kid, my grandma picked me up from school and almost everyday I would beg her to take me to this one particular party store that sold deep dish pizza by the slice. I was like, 8 years old and a regular at a shop where most customers went to grab a six-er.

I've spent a lifetime love, love, LOVING pizza, from the $5.00 Hot & Ready to the $50.00 Chicago deep dish (shout out to Pizza Papalis in Detroit!) But one beast I had never really felt comfortable with was the homemade pie. I had tried a variation of dough, sauces, techniques, temperatures and ingredients, but each time I made pizza from scratch it turned out just "okay". For all my time and effort, I really should have just ordered delivery.

But then my BFF, who is so in tune with my adoration for all things edible, got me a subscription to Bon Appétit magazine. October's issue was the PARTY issue and on the cover was this big, beautiful homemade pizza that made me say, "It WILL be mine, oh yes! This pizza will be MINE!"

October 2014 Issue - Photo via

This homemade pizza recipe walks you through the dough, the sauce and provides a list of suggested toppings. I followed the dough making process to a "T", but I played around a little bit with the sauce to make it more to my preference. As for the toppings, the items I chose were pretty standard, however, I intentionally purchased only quality ingredients. I certainly didn't spend a ton of money on this project, but I also didn't cheap-out; this pizza was too important!

The DOUGH 

Bon Appétit's Grandma-Style Pizza Dough

NOTE: This dough needs to cold-rise in

 your refrigerator for 24 HOURS.   #PlanAhead

Ingredients:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (plus more to sprinkle on surface while kneading)
• 1 envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ teaspoon)
• 1 & 1/2 cups warm water (about 105-110 degrees) 
• 1/2 cup PLUS 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. will go IN the dough
• About 1 Tbsp. will coat the bowl your dough rises in
• 1/2 cup will go on baking pan before stretching out the dough
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (I used sea salt instead since it's what I had on hand and that worked just fine)

Recipe from Bon Appétit's Grandma-Style Pizza Dough

Combine the yeast and 1 &1/2 cups warm water in a large bowl and let stand for about 10 minutes, until yeast begins to foam.

Mix in 2 Tablespoons olive oil, then 2 cups all-purpose flour and the 2 Tablespoons salt. (I used a fork to fold all of these ingredients together.) 

Then add the remaining 2 cups of flour, ONE cup at a time. Continue to fold until ingredients are incorporated and a shaggy dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead about 10-12 minutes, until dough becomes soft, smooth and elastic. 

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill for about 24 hours.

The next day: you can see how the dough has really expanded!

Pre-heat your oven to 500 - 525 degrees.

(My oven maxes out at 500 but 525 is better 

if yours can go that high.)

Coat an 18x13 inch rimmed baking sheet with 1/2 cup olive oil. (It may seem like a lot, don't skimp on the oil here! This step gives the crust that crunchy, oily, delicious texture once cooked.) 

Turn out dough onto baking sheet and gently stretch dough evenly across until it reaches each edge. Then wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place (70 degrees is ideal) about 30-40 minutes, until the dough is puffed and full of air bubbles. 

Since it is chilly in my house this time of year, I turned my oven on to its lowest setting (170 degrees), let it come to temperature, turned the oven OFF, waited about 10 minutes, then placed my dough in there to rise for the suggested time. This worked pretty well! Just remember, your dough is covered in plastic wrap - don't let it melt!

The SAUCE 

SO simple. SO delicious!

Ingredients:

• one 28 oz. can whole-peeled tomatoes, drained
• 4 anchovy fillets
• 3 large cloves garlic
•  about 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 6 Tablespoons olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

San Marzano tomatoes are where it's at!

Anchovies are pretty much a staple in my house. 

 They're sooooo good!!

Fresh basil makes the whole kitchen smell marvelous!

After draining the tomatoes, combine all ingredients in your food processor or blender. Pulse until sauce reaches your preferred texture. 

Once the sauce is as chunky or smooth as you like it, it is ready to go on your pizza. But this traditional pie calls for CHEESE to go on FIRST! So, on to the toppings...

The TOPPINGS

These are my preferences - YOU can choose whatever you like!

That Busy Girl's Toppings of Choice:

• One stick pepperoni, thinly sliced
• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella
• 2 large fresh mushrooms, sliced
• about 1/8 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
• 3 to 5 anchovy fillets, rough chopped
• salt & pepper to taste

ROOKIE MISTAKE: Using too many toppings.

When making a masterpiece such as this, the focus is not on the toppings alone. You want the amazing sauce and tasty crust to stand out as well. So when it comes to topping this particular pizza, lighten up!

Carefully blot the fresh mozzarella with paper towel to remove excess moisture before grating it. Lightly salt and pepper the top of the pizza crust and then evenly sprinkle with cheese.

"Dot" the sauce all over the cheese. Gently blot each dot to spread sauce a little more evenly across the pizza.

Spread your toppings on evenly but don't worry about the placement being perfectly symmetrical. Place the pizza in your pre-heated 500 to 525 degree oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. (My pizza was perfect when baked at 500 degrees for 25 minutes!)

Remove pizza from oven and allow it to cool just a few minutes before cutting into it and chowing down!

I want to hear YOUR thoughts on this AMAZING pizza pie! Leave me a comment below to tell me if you used this recipe and what you thought about it. I ALSO want to know if you use a DIFFERENT homemade pizza recipe and WHY you think it's fabulous!

xoxo,

That Busy Girl

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