cheese pizza with bacon & basil

The fact that this is covered in bacon makes me want to face plant into this.

I’m sure you wouldn’t mind having this for breakfast, right?

I hadn’t made pizza in a while and I was seriously craving some homemade pizza. Problem was, I didn’t have pizza dough. Yes, yes, I was the type of person who would use the pizza crusts from the can. Did I mention how much I HATE those things? I literally stand 5 feet away from the can and stick a knife into one of the seams and every time, no fail, I scream when it pops. Gah!

I’ve been meaning to try to make my own pizza dough for a while but I’m still weary about yeast. I swear I’m a yeast killer.

Homemade pizza dough has always been on my list because I know how much better it must be and everything. So one morning, I decided I was going to do it! I prepped the water and the yeast and 5 minutes later, the yeast was dead. Well, bummer. Luckily, I had one more envelope packet of yeast but there was no way I was going to kill the yeast as I was seriously craving homemade pizza. So who do I holler at? My momma. She was already on her way over anyway to drop off some stuff but I asked her to come up to help me with the yeast. Lo-and-behold, she activates the yeast instead of killing it like her daughter. Hooray!

Fast forward 4 hours or so and I have the most beautiful dough just rising in a bowl. And then I made pizza with it and I was super happy. I swear it wasn’t because of the bacon covered pizza. Conclusion: homemade pizza dough is a life changer. Please don’t be like me and use canned dough. Unless you’re in a pinch, but even then, it’s still worth it to make your own :)

Cheese Pizza with Bacon & Basil

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Yield: 1 12″ pizza

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1 cup warm water (110 degrees)

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp. active dry yeast or instant yeast

2 tbsp. honey

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

For the pizza:

3/4 cup homemade or store bought marinara sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

5 slabs of bacon, browned and diced into small pieces

Handful of basil, chopped

Instructions:

1. For the dough, combine the yeast and salt into a bowl of a stand mixer. Next add the honey and then warm water. Let the stand mixer combine it all with the dough hook then let it sit for 5 minutes to proof.
2. When ready, add the olive oil and 1 cup of flour. Let it fully combine before adding the other cup. Then add the last 1/4 cup of flour and let the mixer run until a dough is formed and no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl.
3. Take the dough out and knead on a flat, lightly floured, countertop for 5 minutes. Then place it back in the bowl of a stand mixer and cover it with plastic wrap and put it in a warm, draft-free place for 2 hours.
4. Once dough has doubled in size, pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
5. Start rolling out the dough on a floured surface and forming a circle the size of your pizza pan. Use your fingers to gently stretch the dough while turning it.
6. When finished with your pizza dough, pour the marinara sauce on top and spread it evenly on the pizza. Then sprinkle cheese, bacon, and basil on top.
7. Pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.
8. Serve hot, but be careful not to burn the roof of your mouth!

Dough recipe from Kayotic Kitchen otherwise, Table for Two original.