Homemade Pizza Cost Breakdown

Can anything please a family more than pizza?

Cost Breakdown:

• 2 C water -- 3 cents (??? Big time guessing on this one!)
  
• 2 T brown sugar -- 5 cents
• 2 T yeast -- 60 cents
  
• 2 T EVOO -- 20 cents
• 1 1/2 t salt -- 3 cents
• 5 C bread flour -- $1.46
• Homemade Pizza Sauce -- 40 cents
• 1 C shredded mozzerella cheese -- 63 cents
  

Total Cost: $3.40

The crust portion of the recipe makes 2 crusts. The pizza sauce is for 1 pizza. I froze 1/2 the dough since I only need 1 pizza. So for the actual meal that night the cost was $2.19.

How I Made It:

1. Combine warm water, brown sugar, and yeast in a bowl and allow to become bubbly, about 10 minutes.
2. Add to your "proofed" yeast the oil, salt, and flour. Knead for about 5 minutes if doing by hand or about 2-3 minutes in a stand mixer.
3. Cover and allow to rise -- about an hour, depending on the temps in your house, humidity levels, etc. Keep an eye on it.
4. While the dough is rising make up your pizza sauce so the flavors can blend while you wait.
   
5. Once the dough is about twice it's starting size, divide into 2 parts. I froze 1 part of my dough, but you don't have to. Roll out, using a bit of flour and a rolling pin, to about the size of a 12 inch pie and place on a pizza pan or stone.
   
6. Top with sauce and cheese.
   
7. Bake at 350* for about 15 minutes.
   

Notes:

• If you have time, use less yeast and give the dough more time to rise. But if you're pressed for time using more yeast will help everything rise faster.
• I don't quite use the whole can of sauce when I make it. I just dump the extra in a bowl and use it for dipping. I like a lot of sauce with my pizza, so it's a good compromise to dip my pizza in the extra sauce.
• Pizza can have very varying costs when you enter the world of toppings. I do buy pepperoni (the Kroger brand turkey kind) and I make one package last through about 3-4 pizzas, but it does raise the cost of 1 pizza about 75 cents. Personally, I love cheese pizza; sprinkle a little basil on top of the cheese and I'm a happy camper. But if you need toppings leftover sausage, crumbled hamburger, veggies that need using up all make great toppings and keep the price minimal.
• This dough is a bit thicker, more like a pan pizza. You can roll it thinner and use a bit less dough to get a thin crust; this will also stretch the dough into a possible 3rd pizza.
• If you like breadsticks, simply shape accordingly, brush with butter (and garlic!!!) and bake. But watch them because they will cook up a lot faster! Enjoy them by simply dipping into the sauce.