Simple Pizzas

Making pizza at home has recently become an obsession of mine, which works out nicely since I crave it at least once a week. Last week, I figured I would work on a goal for the new year- taking more photos of things I'm already doing- and document the super simple recipe I've been using.

You'll need:

-1 ball of pre-made pizza dough (you can make your own of course, but I find I make pizza more often if I don't have to make the dough as well). I like the dough at Trader Joe's or Safeway/Von's/Pavillions. If there's a pizza place you like the crust at, you can also see if they'll sell you the dough- most will.
-El Cento canned crushed tomatoes. I've seen these at both TJ's and Safeway/Von's/Pavillions as well.
-1 log fresh mozzarella, sliced
-Fresh basil
-Salt
-Crushed garlic

Pre-heat oven as high as it'll go without broiling.

For the sauce, you'll need about 1/2 the can of the crushed tomatoes for two pizzas. Add salt and garlic to taste. Set aside.

Divide the pizza dough into two balls. Roll them out one at a time on a lightly floured counter. For this style of pizza (Napoletana-esque), you'll want to roll the dough out thin. If you're having a hard time getting it thin, gently stretch the dough between your fists.

Once the dough is rolled out, place it on a pizza screen, or, if you're using a pizza stone, a pizza peel.

Sauce the crust, spreading it evenly but leaving a thin ring around the edge sauceless. Add the mozzarella, spacing it evenly, not too close to the edge. Add some of the basil (I like to chiffonade mine, but whole leaves are fine too).

Bake for 5-10 minutes, until the mozzarella is bubbly and begins to brown. Cut immediately, add some more basil if you like, and serve.

I hope this simple recipe will get you making more pizza at home! Make it your own and add topping you enjoy (just try to limit it to 2-3 toppings per pizza or it'll get soggy). If you try it, I'd love to hear what you think. I already can't wait until I recover from this terrible flu- I know what my first meal will be once I can eat again!

Original recipe, styling, and photos by Danae Horst for Gather and Hunt.