Grandma Would Be So Proud!

Growing up, nothing was better than "Grandma's Pizza." She would buy the dough from her favorite pizzaria, top with her homemade sauce, cheese, and any other toppings our hearts desired, and we would devour it like we hadn't eaten in years.

Her pizza was so popular, the kids on the cul-de-sac would come over for pizza as well. I remember one summer, hot as anything, and while we were swimming my grandmother was it the kitchen, no A/C, making pie after pie for us. Now that's love -- of food and kids.

So it seemed only natural after I had my son that I make homemade pizza for him, just like my grandmother did for me. We started out with store-bought dough, like my grandmother did. But we weren't particularly impressed. We tried different brands, but it just didn't seem to measure up to us. So we decided it was time to finally bite the bullet and make our own dough.

We started with The Pioneer Woman's basic pizza dough recipe. It was good, better than the store-bought dough, but we wanted to make it special. Remembering a pizza we had a friend's house, we decided to try making an herbed dough.

Jackpot!

The addition of some herbs was just the ticket. It elevated the dough to the next level, making it special, making it our own.

Grandma would be so proud.

Herbed Pizza Dough

Based on a recipe from The Pioneer Woman
Makes one crust

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon (scant) Active Dry Yeast
• 3/4 cups Warm Water
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

It doesn't look like much now, but in an hour it's going to be delicious!

Directions:

1. Sprinkle yeast over 3/4 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.
2. In a mixer, combine flour, salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.
3. Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.

Note: it’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance.

Ta-da! The finished product!