Homemade Pizza

Steve and the kids have perfected the art of homemade pizza. Here's the process:





First Steve pours together the flour, yeast and water. We like primarily whole wheat crust with some white flour, too. Without the white flour, it is a little bit too dense. We double the amount of flour to make the crust thicker but do not double the yeast.

Both Elliott and Rosemary mix the dough. They take this task very seriously and nicely push the bowl back and forth to take turns.

Steve kneads the dough, then sets it to rise a little while he pre-heats the oven and organizes the kids for the next phase. He also cooks up the Italian Sausage (usually holding Rosemary on his hip because she likes to watch).

Together, they flatten the dough on our pizza stone. This part is fun because they sprinkle corn starch and all help at the same time.

Elliott stacked up all the toppings. We like: Italian sausage, mushrooms, spinach, onions and mozzarella cheese.

Steve and the kids spread the sauce. We find the organic Newman's Own to be very tasty and sweet. Alina prefers a lighter sauce. The pizza stone is sitting on a dish towel so we can push it across the table for the kids (and it won't scratch the table).

Everyone enjoys adding the toppings. This takes a while as each child has a turn to put on a handful or spoonful. Sometimes we end up with a big pile of mushrooms in one spot and there is generally lots of snacking.

After all the toppings are in place, Steve places the pizza in the oven for about 15 minutes. Then, it's ready to eat!