Pizza Time!!!

I used to make homemade pizza and share it with my upstairs tenants. I made it so much that when one was looking for a new roommate she told her free pizza was included with the rent. This is all for me today.

I make my own dough, using a bread machine as a mixer. It's just a variation on what was in the bread machine book:

• 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (light, like the stuff I'd fry with)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

I also usually add a teaspoon of rosemary but I was all out. I usually only do half a teaspoon of the other spices but doubled them since I had no rosemary.

I use all the dough as I like a thick rising crust. This is typical of Buffalo style pizza but I realize people elsewhere always complain about this. If you like it not so thick, just split this into two pizza crusts.

After spreading the dough I let it rise. I coated the surface with extra virgin olive oil, then sprinkled garlic powder over it. I used half a can of Don Peppino pizza sauce and saved the rest for another time.

I'm going for something like a greek-style pizza with the toppings. I used:

• crimini mushrooms
• kalamata olives
• grape tomatoes
• mozzarella cheese
• feta cheese
basil (dried)

I fried the mushrooms in olive oil with some garlic powder first. This gets the moisture out of the mushrooms. Putting them on raw ends up getting liquid all over the top of the pizza.

I cook it at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

And here's the finished pizza! There was a small amount of liquid from the mushrooms but I was able soak it up with a paper towel.