Tale of Two Pizzas

My poor husband puts up with a lot from me. I am constantly trying to revamp recipes (obviously, hence the purpose of this blog). I like to think that his health is benefited by his marriage to me. But sometimes you have to put your foot down. That foot was put down by my husband when it comes to pizza crust.

I like to make homemade pizza. It tastes so good and is relatively quite simple. I've made thin crust pizza. I've made whole wheat crust pizza. You name it - I've probably tried to make it. But when it comes down to it, my husband prefers the true to form recipe of white flour dough. So I've decided to stick with this wish and not sneak whole wheat flour into our pizza.

I've decided that I can manage to indulge in some good old fashion pizza crust. I like to top mine with veggies and keep pepperoni on Paul's side. (can you tell by the picture above?)

What toppings would you put on your perfect pizza?

So here it is. Here is the recipe that I use for pizza crust. Not necessarily healthy but you can healthify it by adding your healthy toppings, using part-skim mozzarella or even halving the recipe and making a thin crust.

Pizza Crust

1/4 cup water
3/4 cup milk
4 Tbsp soft margarine
1 heaping Tbsp yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 to 3 cups all purpose flour

Combine water, milk and margarine. Heat until warm, 120-130 degrees. Dissolve yeast into liquid. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Combine sugar, salt and 1 cup of flour in electric mixer. Add liquid mixture and stir with dough hook to combine. Add additional flour 1/2 a cup at a time until dough forms a ball and is slightly sticky. Knead with dough hook for additional 5 minutes.

Cover bowl with dish cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. In the mean time, cover a pizza pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Sprinkle with corn meal to prevent the dough from sticking. When the dough is done rising, place onto prepared pan and press out to edges of pan, allowing for a slightly thicker crust around the edges.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Top crust with tomato sauce and desired toppings such as cheese and vegetables! Bake for 20-25 minutes or until desired doneness is acheived. Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Each slice of crust (1/8th of pie) provides:
226 calories
6.1 g fat
37.4 g carbohydrate
1.1 g fiber
5.0 g protein