You are working from home and the kids are there, too. Making pizza from scratch is fun and therapeutic. Homemade pizza is so much better than what chain pizza parlors have to offer. The kids get a science lesson with the yeast doing its wonders on the dough. Mom and Dad get to choose a wine that goes nicely with the pizza. Everybody loves a good pizza!
How to make a pizza at home
You can make a pizza in your oven on a pizza stone, cook pizza on the stovetop in a castiron skillet, or make it on the barbecue grill. I like the grill because you can make two pizzas, maybe three, and each pizza can have a different topping.
What you need for making homemade pizza
- Yeast
- Flour
- A pizza dough recipe
- Pizza toppings
Pizza Tools
- Pizza peel
- Pizza wheel
- Pizza stone – for the oven or the grill
- Castiron pan – stovetop or grill
- A good-sized spatula
You can shop for pizza tools at Bed Bath & Beyond, Sur La Table, Amazon, or other kitchen places.
How to Make a Pizza at Home
I started making pizzas at home many years ago after watching a cooking show on my local PBS station. Joanne Weir led us through all the steps, and I have never looked back. Joanne has several fantastic recipes for pizzas. Her pizza dough always works. Check out Joanne’s pizza recipe list on her Website.
Once the dough is ready, spread it out to a ten-inch diameter. Chef Joanne Weir mixes a tablespoon of olive oil and a minced garlic clove and lets it sit. Brush a thin layer of the mix on the pizza dough. Then, add your toppings.
My tip: I have a hard time sliding the pizza dough with all the toppings on the pizza stone. Everything slides to the side or off the dough. To fix the issue, I slide the dough on the stone for 45 seconds without toppings. That gives the dough some firmness. Now I put the toppings on and slide the pizza in the oven.
You can also cook a pizza on the grill three ways. On a pizza stone or grid on the grill, a castiron skillet on the grill, or just put the dough smack dab on top of the grill bars. Check out this link. Three ways to make pizza on the Barbecue.
Choose your wine
The Italians love their Barbera wines with pizza. However, any good red wine seems to work its magic on pizza. We most often go with Zinfandel wine. Of course, much depends on the toppings.
Don’t forget to support your local wine shop or favorite winery during this shelter-in-place situation. Just about every wine dealer or winery is offering great shipping prices and/or curbside pickups.
Watch a wine movie and eat pizza
We just discovered Kanopy! Kanopy is a video streaming service that is free. All you need is a public library card and you will have access to thousands of independent movies and other fantastic shows. I did a search for the keyword “Wine”on Kanopy. The result: wine movies, wine documentaries, and wine courses. Download the Kanopy app to your TV and tablet. Kanopy!
