For today's recipe we have a few different components. We have made pizza dough, sauce, and chicken cutlets from scratch. We will focus on the creation of the pizza but will provide the recipes for the other components also. You can use store bought ingredients but where is the fun in that.

The Dough

Ingredients:

1 package active dry yeast (.25 ounce)

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons white sugar

Directions:

In a bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until foaming, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Keep mixing until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and place in the fridge to let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes it can also be left overnight. When ready for the dough, punch the dough down to take some air out. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Knead dough into a round ball and the shape the dough to the desired crust shape.

* If using the dough on the same day, start creating your sauce while the dough is rising.

The Sauce





Ingredients:

1 can of Whole San Marzano Tomatoes (28 oz, can be regular tomatoes)

1 small onion (chopped)

1 garlic clove (minced)

8 basil leaves (sliced)

Red Pepper Flakes

Olive Oil

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a saucepan, then add the minced garlic. Cook until slightly golden for about 2 min. Then add the onions into the garlic. Let the onions and garlic cook down until soft, add pepper and salt to taste. Remove tomatoes from the can and hand crush them into the saucepan. Make sure to add any remaining liquid from the can into the sauce. Add the basil into the sauce as well as salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Bring sauce to a boil. Once the sauce reaches a boil lower the temperature to a simmer and allow sauce to cook down to your desired thickness.

You may be asking why I specifically said San Marzano tomatoes. This is because I personally feel the offer superior taste compared to all other tomatoes. They are so good you could easily eat them out of the can so they do not need much to make a great sauce. The flavor of these tomatoes t is said to come from the volcanic soil the tomatoes grow in. To learn more about San Marzano Tomatoes Click Here.

The Chicken Cutlets

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts

1 Egg

Flour

Italian Season Bread Crumbs

Vegetable Oil

Directions:

Slice the chicken breasts thinly, about a 1/2 inch Take the egg and beat it with a small amount of water in a bowl to create an egg wash Place flour and bread crumbs each into separate bowls to create a dredging station Coat the chicken breasts in the flour, followed by the egg wash. Shake off any excess egg wash and then place the chicken into the bread crumbs. Coat the chicken well, you may even repeat the egg wash and bread crumbs if you would like Place and heat enough vegetable oil in a pan to cover the bottom of a pan Once the oil is hot cook the chicken cutlets until they are golden brown on each side

The Pizza





Ingredients:

Pizza Dough (see above or use store bought)

Tomato Sauce (see above or use store bought)

Fresh Basil

Fresh Mozzarella

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees Roll out the dough into the shape of pizza of your choosing Slice or break apart your your hand the Mozzarella Brush olive oil around the edges of your dough Spread the sauce around your dough using a ladle. Start from the center and work your way outward. Place the basil leaves around your pizza Take the cheese and cover the pizza, ensuring there is enough cheese to cover the basil so it does not burn. Slice chicken cutlets into strips and place on the pizza. Then cover each strip with a small amount of sauce to help keep the chicken form drying out in the oven. Drizzle olive oil across the top of the pizza. If you have a Pizza stone feel free to place the pizza right onto the stone. If you are using a tray place a small amount of corn meal on the pan to help keep the dough from sticking to the pan. Cook pizza for about 8 - 12 minutes or until golden brown. Be sure to check your pizza often as all ovens vary.

Results:

As you can see there are more than one pizza pictured above, they all turned out perfectly. The chicken pizza specifically came out great. The cheese and sauce we both fresh which adds a fresh flavor to the pizza. The dough itself was crispy and a bit too think. Next time we would make sure to work the dough a bit more to get the extra air out of the dough. Overall we were very happy with the results of this recipe and would definitely recommend anyone that enjoys pizza to try making it at home. It is not nearly as hard as it looks, just takes some practice.