Slice-by-slice, homemade pizza sure to satisfy

Put down the phone. Calling for delivery is not the answer to a great pizza — a kitchen and a little muscle is. Making pizza from scratch is not as scary as it seems. The three basic components of the pizza — dough, sauce and toppings — are easy to prepare. Once the dough and sauce are prepared, pizzas virtually can be topped with anything. There are two tips to remember when making homemade pizza. First, don’t skimp on the kneading (working dough with fists). It has to have at least 10 good minutes of vigorous pounding to bring out its elasticity, according to “Pizza” by Silvana Franco. Also, never put pizza into a cold oven — it will come out dense and soggy rather than light and crisp, according to Franco.

Basic pizza dough   

1 and two-thirds cups

unbleached all-purpose flour or

bread flour, plus extra for sprinkling

one-half  T salt

1 package active dry yeast (1/4 oz.)

2 T olive oil

one-half cup room temperature

water

Put the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl and mix. Form a well in the center and add the water and oil. Gradually work

together to make a soft dough. Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface such as wax paper on a counter top. Knead for

10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic, adding flour if dough is sticky. Rub some oil over the surface of the dough and

return to the bowl. Cover with a clean cloth and leave for about one hour, until the dough has doubled in size. Remove the

dough to a slightly floured surface and knead for two minutes, until the excess air is knocked out. Dough is

ready for use as per the recipe

.1 and two-thirds cups

unbleached all-purpose flour or

bread flour, plus extra for

sprinkling

one-half  T salt

Shrimp and Sundried  tomato pizza

one-half cup mascarpone cheese

8 oz. cooked and shelled shrimp*

Salt and pepper

6 scallions, finely shredded

One pizza dough

2 T olive oil

1 cup fiery tomato sauce

one-half cup sun-dried

tomatoes, chopped

Put a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Roll out dough on a slightly-floured surface

to12-inch diameter and brush with one tablespoon of the oil. Spoon the tomato sauce on top and add the chopped

tomatoes. Sprinkle the pizza with the remaining oil, salt and plenty of black pepper. Carefully transfer to the hot pizza stone or

baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and spoon small dollops of mascarpone over the pizza.

Top with shrimp and return to the oven for a further five to 10 minutes, until crisp and golden. Sprinkle with scallions

and serve. courtesy of "Pizza" by Silvana Franco

Fiery tomato sauce

3 and one-half cups (29 oz.) canned tomato sauce

2 T olive oil

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Handful of basil leaves, torn

one-fourth T hot pepper flakes

one-half T sugar

Salt and pepper

Put the tomato, oil, garlic, basil, pepper flakes and sugar into a saucepan and add salt and pepper to taste. Bring

to a boil and partially cover with a lid. Reduce the heat and simmer very gently, stirring from time to time for 30-60

minutes, until the sauce is a dark red and reduced to about half of its original volume. Taste and adjust the

seasoning, cover with a lid and let cool slightly before using.

Recipes courtesy of “Pizza” by Silvana Franco