Homemade Cheese Pizza

Pizza is one of the most popular foods around the world, among people of all ages. The variations for crust recipes and toppings are endless for every taste bud. Some (aka me) like it thin and crusty, to others the thicker the pizza the better. This particular recipe is one of my favorite go-to classic pizza. I Love cheese and if you are like me you can top your pizza with even more cheese than this recipe states, to your liking. In my opinion, one of the most important things that need to be taken into consideration when pizza making is properly baked crust. Nobody likes soggy unevenly baked dough pizza. It is crucial to put your favorite pizza dough into well-preheated 500 degree F oven to get the perfectly cooked crust and topping not overcooked. I do use baking stone for my pizza, which I leave in my oven at all times. I do find that baking pizza transferred directly onto hot baking stone delivers the best crust, in my opinion, compared to a plain baking pan. I also like preparing double or triple batches of this recipe and freezing them for a quick dinner fix on a busy weekday. This homemade pizza recipe is super easy to make, yet it tastes so good!

Freezing:
If you do decide to freeze pizza, just wrap the prepared unbaked pizza (I place it on aluminum pizza pan to avoid deformation) with plastic wrap and foil. It will store for about 1 month in the freezer. When ready to bake, do not defrost your pizza. Just brush the sides with some olive oil and transfer to a well-preheated to 500 degrees F oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until well browned and cheese bubbling, rotating once. Cool for 5 minutes on a cooling rack before serving.

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Serves 4

Ingredients:
Dough:
3/4 cup (177g) half-and-half 110 degrees (43 C)
1/4 cup (60g) warm water 110 degrees (43 C)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups (473g) all purpose four
1/8 cup (30g) cornstarch
1 1/8 tsp (5.5g) dry yeast
3/4 tsp (1g) salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sugar

Sauce and Topping:
7 oz (200g) canned diced tomatoes, drained, reserve 1/4 cup (60ml) juice liquid
1/2 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp for basting pizza crust before baking
1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 tsp dried oregano (or 1/2 tbsp minced fresh)
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup (236 g) grated fresh Mozzarella
1/4 cup (60g) grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 cup (30ml) half-and-half

Preparation:
Dough:
Preheat oven with baking stone inside to 500 degrees F (260 C) for about 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on your oven.
Combine half-and-half, water and oil.
Using dough hook for the mixer combine together on a medium speed sugar, yeast, salt, baking powder, cornstarch and flour
Add half-and-half mixture to the dry ingredients and mix for about 5 mins. The dough will be wet and cling to the sides of the mixer bowl
Transfer the dough to a bowl sprayed with oil, cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let rise at room temperature for about 1hr, or until the dough is doubled in size.
Pulse drained tomatoes, and reserved juice in a blender until coarsely ground, just a couple of pulses.
Heat oil until simmering, adding tomato paste. Cook it until it starts to get brown, approximately 2 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, pepper flakes and stir for 30 seconds. Add pulsed tomatoes, bring to simmer and cook until reduced to approximately 3/4 cup, about 10 minutes
Season with salt and pepper to taste and let cool
Mix Parmesan and Mozzarella with half-and-half until well combined.
With well-oiled hands press dough out to form a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter.
Put 1/2 cup sauce onto the dough leaving border around the edge.
top with cheese mixture
Brush the edges with Olive oil
Slide the pizza onto the baking stone /pan and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is well browned, rotating once halfway through.
Let cool for 5 minutes on a cooling rack before serving.
Enjoy!