Pizza - Sauces

This is one of the easier ways to make yourself a legend in your own lunch time. Rolled wedges of dough and savory ingredients come out of the oven as cheesy, golden "croissants" that taste even better than they look. These can rise a bit (for a chewier snack) or not (for a crispier texture). Make them up, freeze, and bake as needed –they freeze great for school lunches of after school pizza pockets (well, pizza pockets at the next level). Variations include smoked turkey and Swiss cheese, feta and spinach, smoked ham and sharp cheddar. Double the dough and increase the ingredients slightly to make oversized versions to be served as a meal. Use BetterBaking.Com Classic Pizza Dough as the foundation dough.

Everyone needs at least one black dress pizza dough. This is one of mine. It is great for almost anything you throw at it or on it. I use this for Pizza Croissants - another favorite recipe. Make this and use it the same day or refrigerate it overnight for a more rustic pizza the next day.

This is what I use on my ‘house’ pizzas to sass things up. If you bought it, it would be $7-$20 depending on the brand. Homemade it’s custom tailored to your taste and a bargain gourmet item from your own pantry. You can make other flavors of this oil, using the method in the recipe (Asian ginger garlic, or Thai or Greek, etc.)

This is the low maintenance, perfect yield dough for a homemade, thick crust. cheese and pepperoni pizza. Alternatively, a smear of garlic, drizzle of olive oil, some pepper and fresh herbs make this a super flatbread for dipping.

No two Chicagoans will tell you exactly the same thing about deep-dish pizza, but these are the basics – three layers of dough, spicy sausage filling, topped with sauce and cheese. Great hot or cold. If you want to speed this up, omit the spinach (and/or if you aren't keen on spinach) and used doctored-up jarred marinara sauce. This is a very hunky pizza - making it perfect for the beach picnic (cold) or on the deck at night, or brown-bagging.

I cannot tell you how many ways I make pizza dough and how I like each and every one. But this one is about the easiest and gives you a crisp, bistro style pizza. It’s better if you let it sojourn in the fridge overnight but even made the same day, it’s awesome.