Heavenly Homemade Pizza

Homemade pizza is my favorite dinner to make right now. I put together this pizza last night and it was to die for. Ellie devoured it too, which is always a plus. My favorite thing about it is the creamy garlic sauce instead of the usual marinara.

{There was only one piece left by the time I decided it was good enough to share the recipe.}

BST & Herb Pizza

Crust: (I adapted this from Annie's Eats)

1 cup warm water (105-115˚ F)

1 T instant yeast

1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. olive oil, plus extra for brushing

1¼ tsp. honey

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur's)

¾ tsp. coarse salt

Cornmeal for pizza stone

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Preheat your oven (and pizza stone, if you have one) to 450 degrees.
To make the crust, combine the water, yeast, olive oil, honey, salt and 2 2/3 cups of the flour in a bowl and let it sit and get bubbly for a few minutes. Mix with wooden spoon until dough is tacky, but not sticky. Add more flour a little at a time if needed. Knead for about five minutes.Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise at room temperature for 30-45 minutes. Now, make the sauce!

Sauce:

6 tablespoons butter

2 T flour

Pinch of salt and pepper

3 garlic cloves, peeled and diced (or garlic powder, if you don't have fresh garlic)

2 cups whole milk (I'm sure lower fat would be OK but not as creamy :) )

Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a saucepan over med. heat. Remove from heat and blend in the flour, salt & pepper and garlic. Add the milk. Return to heat and cook on medium, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Cook for an additional minute. Grate plenty of parmesan cheese on top (1/3 cup or so) and stir until it melts.

Now, roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface into your desire pizza shape and size. I LOVE how easy to work with this crust is! Spread some cornmeal on your preheated pizza stone, place the dough on it, cinching any sides that hang over.

Poke several holes in the crust with a fork, sprinkle on some parmesan cheese then spread all of your sauce on it. Add your cheese, spinach & tomato. I added the bacon and herbs after it came out so they didn't get burned. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes. Add bacon and herbs. Salivate, eat a slice. Repeat. Then repeat a couple more times like I did.

Toppings:

Shredded mozzerella (I used a Sargento blend of mozz and provolone.)

Spinach (1-2 coarsely chopped handfuls)

Bacon (about 6 strips, cooked until crispy and diced into tiny pieces)

1 ripe from-the-vine tomato

Fresh herbs (I used oregano, lemon thyme, basil and cilantro from my garden)

Freshly grated parmesan cheese