If you are a pizza fan, you will be happy to know that the second Sunday this month begins National Pizza Week, from January 14th to 20th 2024. It was originally created in October 1984 by Gerry Durnell, publisher of Pizza Today magazine. 

Almost all of us love pizza. Fresh from the oven or cold the next day. There are an estimated 63,000 pizzerias and 94% of Americans eat pizza at least once a month. The figures equal the consumption of about 45 slices of pizza per person in the U.S. each year and show that Americans love their pizza as evidenced by devouring 100 acres of pizza per day.   

The history of pizza goes all the way back to the early Egyptians and the Greeks, who may have made the first pizza. For them, pizza was flatbread topped with olive oil and some herbs and spices. After the Roman armies entered Greece and Egypt and adopted some of their cuisines, early Romans made their own pizza. The consumption of pizza continued with little change in its recipe for years, up until we entered modern times when the world exploded into the second world war.  

During the occupation of Italy by the Allied Forces, American soldiers stationed in Italy ate lots of Italian food, but the one they really loved was their pizza. When the war ended, they brought the recipe with them and so the American pizza was created. Before this, only the Italian immigrants in the U.S. used to eat pizza, along with a few others who worked with the Italians.  

The 1950s saw a boom in pizza consumption as the newly imported pizza recipe spread to the masses, practically every street in the country had a pizza stall. Our passion for pizza continued to increase until today there are reports that 350 slices of pizza are eaten every second. This means 40 pizzas are consumed every second. A full-day analysis would simply be mind-boggling, but it demonstrates that pizza is heavily consumed in the U.S.  

It is hard to avoid a dedicated calendar event for this marvelous thing, and so we have an entire week to celebrate it. Plan a Family Pizza Night. Make a pizza from scratch with the recipe below and top it with your favorite toppings. 

 

How to Make Perfect Pizza Dough—From Scratch 

Ingredients  

 

Instructions  

  • Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Put a pizza stone in the oven while it preheats, and let it warm at 500 degrees F for at least 10 minutes.* 

Make the Pizza Dough 

  • Combine warm water, yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. 
  • Let mixture sit for 5 minutes, or until it becomes frothy and bubbles form. 
  • Gently stir in olive oil. 
  • Add 2 cups of flour and salt and mix with a spatula until a ball begins to form (dough will still be slightly sticky). Add more flour as needed to form a dough ball. 
  • Transfer to a floured surface and knead into a smooth dough, adding up to ½ cup extra flour if needed. 
  • Optional. if desired, cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let it rise for 10 minutes or up to 1 hour. 

Assemble the pizza 

  • Roll the dough into your desired shape and put it on a piece of parchment paper. 
  • Use a pizza peel to transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone in the oven. 
  • Bake on the preheated pizza stone for 12-15 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust is golden brown. 
  • Remove the pizza from the oven with the pizza peel and put it on a wire rack to cool for at 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving. 

 

If you don’t have a pizza stone.  

You can preheat the pizza pan or baking pan. You will be cooking the pizza on a pan in the oven instead of the stone. You will need to bake the pizza slightly longer without a stone.  

Ingredient Substitutions 

  • All-purpose flour. you can replace up to ½ cup flour with whole wheat flour. You can also use a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose baking flour for a gluten-free pizza crust. 
  • Sugar. honey is a great substitute for sugar. 
  • Olive oil. Any neutral tasting oil works perfectly in this recipe, I suggest olive oil, avocado oil or canola oil. 
  • This pizza dough recipe is easily doubled or tripled. Simply use 2x or 3x the ingredients and divide the dough equally in 2 or 3 portions. 

You can also make the crust into small personal pizzas and let the kids put their own toppings on it, which is fun. 

To make ahead: You can make this pizza dough in advance. Mix it together and form a ball, then place it in a bowl and tightly cover it with plastic wrap and a damp towel. Store it in the refrigerator until ready to use (up to overnight). 

Serving: 1Serving (Crust only) | Calories: 67kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.8g | Sodium: 177mg | Potassium: 20mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.1mg 

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. 

You can make this pizza dough in advance. Mix it together and form a ball, then place it in a bowl and tightly cover it with plastic wrap and a damp towel. Store it in the refrigerator until ready to use (up to overnight). 

To freeze 

You can freeze this pizza dough in a few ways: 

  • Form it into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight container or plastic bag. 
  • Pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes without toppings. Let it cool, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and foil and freeze. To use, let it thaw, add toppings and bake according to the recipe. 
  • Freeze a fully assembled pizza before baking. You can make your own frozen pizzas by making this pizza dough, topping it with sauce and toppings and flash-freezing it on a baking sheet. One it’s hardened, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Let it thaw and bake.