Pretty much every Sunday night, we make pizza at home (you can see lots of previous efforts here). Ever since we got a pizza stone as a wedding gift last year, it’s elevated our work to high art. Usually, we just buy the whole wheat dough from our local Fresh and Easy, since for $1.14 or so, it’s hard to beat, and it tastes pretty good. But this week, I thought I’d try making my own dough. I used a recipe from Jamie Oliver, and it worked pretty well. It was easy, and made plenty. It tasted good, although it was a little thicker and doughier than we usually like. The dough is easy, and cheap: each pizza makes 8 slices and can serve 4 people at 23 cents per serving plus the cost of whatever toppings you put on your base. I halved the recipe and had enough dough for two big pizzas. Next time, I might halve it again and try and wring two thin-crust pizzas out of it.

Like I said, the recipe was pretty easy. Following his directions (I used the regular/semolina flour mix), you sift the flour out onto a work surface, and make a well in the middle into which you pour your yeast and water. Mix it together gradually, then knead.

When it’s all kneaded into a ball, put it in a bowl and cover it with a damp cloth, then let it sit for about an hour, and it should roughly double in size.

Cut it into as many pizzas as you want to make (if you halve the recipe, I think you could easily get 3 decent-sized pizzas out of it, probably even 4), then roll it out and/or toss it. The dough was really elastic, which means it’s easy for tossing. Don’t hit the ceiling, though (not that I ever do that, Alex).

Onto sauce: I usually skip store-bought sauce, as it’s too sweet and doesn’t really taste like tomatoes to me. We’ll often use fresh tomatoes, or I make my own sauce. Just get a large can of tomatoes (crushed or diced, and if you’re feeling really flush, get San Marzano DOP ones, they’re the best), an onion and some garlic. Put some olive oil on to heat in a sauce pan, then add 1/2 a chopped onion or so, and some chopped garlic (as much or as little as you like). Let those color, then dump in your tomatoes with some salt, pepper, and dried oregano (and perhaps basil and red pepper flakes). Get it boiling, then turn down to a simmer and leave it for a long while, until all the water cooks out. If you don’t let it simmer long enough, there’s a good chance it will turn your pizza soggy. I find that one large (28-ounce) can usually makes enough for 4 pizzas, but your mileage may vary, depending on how much sauce you like.

This week, I made a BLT pizza — bacon, leek and tomato. I cooked four slices of bacon, then slowly cooked the leeks in the bacon fat (I did put both the leeks and bacon on paper towels to get rid of some of the grease ), and then put those on top with some mozzarella and sliced heirloom tomato.

We also did one with slow-cooked broccoli, inspired by Pizzeria Mozza in LA. I cooked the broccoli on the stovetop with some garlic and onion quite slowly, then added some water and covered the pan so it would steam and soften. I then added some mozzarella, and shredded a little bit of pecorino romano I found in the fridge. The dry, sharp taste of the pecorino goes really well with the broccoli on this one.

That’s the BLT one, cooked. And yeah, it tasted pretty awesome.

The broccoli one done… I think I might have to go fish out some of the leftovers now.

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