Homemade Pizza Dough and Sauce

Hello there and Happy Heritage Day! I was going to do a post today on a recipe for a lamb potjie- but that will have to be for another time as we did not end up making potjie today. Instead, we went to a wine festival… but more on that later. :)

So, for your Thirsty Thursday post, you have below the most amazing pizza dough and sauce recipe known to mankind.

We love making pizza’s- especially since we built a pizza oven.

It is SO much fun! and when you have your own pizza oven, it is cheap and easy to eat yummy pizzas whenever you want. Anytime I can eat Italian food and not have to put on makeup, i’m a happy camper. :)

Pizza Dough:
3 1/2 – 4 Cups of All Purpose or Wheat Cake Flour
1 tsp Sugar
2 tsp Salt
1 (8oz) pkg. Dry Instant Yeast
1 1/2 Cups of mildly hot water
Olive Oil

Combine the dry ingredients, and then add in a tablespoon of olive oil and the water.
Knead until elastic.
If the dough is too sticky, add flour by the tablespoon until consistency is right.
If the dough is too firm, or not holding, add water by the tablespoon until consistency is right.

Once dough is elastic, leave covered for 1-3 hours (depending on the temperature of your kitchen) until it doubles in size. Afterwards, divide into two, and lightly knead.
You can use it immediately or store it in a sealed bag or bowl in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

To roll out the pizza dough-  the size you want your pizza to be will determine the ball size you pull from the dough. For a 10″ diameter pizza, I use about a fist size of dough. With a rolling pin on a well floured surface, using a perpendicular motion (vertically then horizontally), roll the dough out to about a 1/6″.
Tah-dah!

Pizza Sauce:
1 can of Tomato Puree
2 cans of chopped and peeled Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons of Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 teaspoon of Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon of Dried Oregano
1/2 teaspoon of Dried Marjoram
1/2 teaspoon of Dried Basil
1/4 teaspoon of Black Pepper
1/8 teaspoon of Cayenne Powder
1 Tablespoon of Red Pepper Flakes
salt to taste

Combine all ingredients into a pot and bring to a simmer.
Let cook for at least 30 minutes to an hour.

*Update- 14th November 2015: I was recently told that my sauce is a bit spicy. Whoops. It does have a bit of a nice zing to it, but if you or anyone you are serving is adverse to spicy-ness at all, you may want to omit the cayenne pepper, and half the red pepper flakes. :)

Smear about 2 Tablespoons of sauce for a 10″ pizza.
Don’t use too much or the dough will get soggy and you won’t be able to pick it up with your pizza paddle!

To make a focaccia, add in some olive oil, thyme, rosemary, and garlic in a bowl, and rub a generous amount onto a rolled out pizza- bake in the oven until golden!

The possibilities are endless for making pizzas!
The ingredients we use most for our toppings are:
Lots of shredded mozzarella cheese
Diced Pineapple
Peppadews
Ham
Black Olives
Green Olives
Mushrooms
Bacon
Avocado
Feta

Let me know how you like these recipes!
Bon appétit!