One of my favorite things to do is host parties at my home. As youth leaders for our local church, we enjoy having the youth group over for a get-together or having a handful of couples for some food and fellowship. I recently found this delicious and super easy homemade pizza dough recipe on Pinterest and came up with the idea for a pizza night. This is a great way to accommodate everyone's different pizza preferences. Simply make the dough and have everyone bring their favorite toppings. Each person (or couple) can make their own pizza. Or make several different types of pizza - traditional, veggie, dessert, etc - for everyone to try.
First, start off with the pizza dough. I found this basic recipe from The Food Nanny; it's perfect, because you can adapt the size of the crust (one 16-inch, two 12-inch, or four 9-inch).
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 tablespoon salt
3-4 cups all-purpose flour (or hold all-purpose and half whole wheat)
Directions:
- Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl, cover, and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Mix the oil, honey, salt, and yeast mixture in a large mixing bowl. If using a food processor, add 1 cup of flour at a time, up to 3 cups, mixing well after each addition. You may have to stir in the third cup of flour by hand depending on your machine. Or mix in all 3 cups of flour by hand with a wooden spoon.
- If the dough seems too wet, mix in more flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough is soft. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead in more flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough is moderately stiff and somewhat firm to the touch, about 6 minutes.
- Lightly grease pizza pan(s) or a cookie sheet(s) with oil. If you are making two or more thin-crust pizzas, divide the dough. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a floured surface. Gently stretch the dough to fill the pan(s).
- Let the dough rise (it will not rise very much) while you make sauce and continue with the pizza recipe of your choice.
Next, add the toppings for your different pizzas. We recently tried 3 different pizzas that were absolutely delicious!
First up is margherita style with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil. The taste of this pizza is so fresh!
With the next crust, I added alfredo sauce, tomatoes, and bacon, and finished with a balsamic glaze. This was my personal favorite!
Lastly, we did a traditional pizza with assorted vegetables and meat.
The options are endless! Adjust for your personal tastes, add a salad, and you've got the perfect meal for a party!
I hope you enjoy! Be sure to give this dough recipe a try and let us know what you think!