HappyTummy              

One of my most treasured kitchen appliances is my Williams-Sonoma breadmaker. My sister purchased it off our wedding registry when B and I got married four and a half years ago. Since then, I’ve made plenty of loaves of bread, but my favorite thing to use it for is to make pizza dough. 

Pizza dough is one of those things I just refuse to buy. Why buy it when you can make it yourself, cheaper and healthier? Same goes for pizza itself. I like being able to control how much sauce and cheese goes on mine. I like being able to pick what toppings I want, especially since B wants certain things, and I want others.

Pizza is often our Sunday-night staple. It’s so easy to make, and so delicious. And because I know exactly what went into it, I don’t feel guilty about eating lots of it. :) I make my pizzas vegetarian, with onions, green peppers, mushrooms and roasted eggplant. B likes his with onions, green peppers and Italian sausage and lots of mozzarella. What are YOUR favorite toppings?  

 Recipe: Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

• 3/4 cups warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast

Put all ingredients except yeast, in order of listing, into a breadmaker. In the flour, make a well and pour yeast into it. Turn breadmaker on “pizza dough” setting.

Recipe: Pizza Sauce

• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• Water
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or a mix of marjoram, thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano and basil 
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Mix the tomato paste and olive oil together. Add enough water to thin out the paste; you want a good spreading consistency (saucy but not watery). Add garlic, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. The longer you let it sit, the better the flavors will blend, but you can also just spread it right on your dough, too.