Homemade and Wholesome Pizza

The first time I had pizza was in my Grade 8 Home Economics cooking class. It was made with a baking powder biscuit dough, canned tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese.

Coming from an English-Scottish-Irish household, I thought it was the most exotic food I had ever eaten. I begged my mother relentlessly to let me make this amazing delicacy. After days of teenage nagging she caved. One bite of Italian nirvana and she too became a pizza lover.

Why not try a homemade pizza night? It’s a great way to get your family into the kitchen to create a meal together. Add a salad and a glass of skim milk and you have a fabulous family-friendly meal.

Recipes

• Basic Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
• Mediterranean Pizza
• Kid-Friendly Cheese Pizza with Homemade Sauce
• Tex-Mex Pizza
• Spanakopita Pizza

Pizza toys

If you’re going to become a pizza aficionado then you’re going to need the toys for success.

Pizza stone: a large flat stone placed in an oven that has been preheated to 450 F (220 C). The pizza is baked on top of it. The stone produces an evenly cooked and crispy pizza crust. If you don’t have a pizza stone, use a regular pizza pan.

Baker’s peel: a long-handled wooden paddle that is used to slide the pizza on and off the pizza stone.

Pizza wheel or pizza cutter: a sharp rolling wheel for slicing pizza.