My all-time favorite food is pizza - homemade using my Aunt Margie's pizza dough recipe. If I remember the story correctly, Aunt Margie's aunt, also named Margie, brought the dough recipe from Italy. My mom got it from my aunt, but didn't like to wait for the dough to rise, so she adapted it. It has worked fabulously for all these years!
I don't remember when my mom started making it, but when I was a teenager, Mom got a job that took her away at dinnertime. I started cooking nearly everyday, and what was my favorite? PIZZA! I could whip it up really fast and we always had the ingredients. Usually, we had simple pizza using tomato sauce (no additional spices or herbs), hamburger and mozzarella cheese. We all loved it. I'm not sure about the younger kids, but I know I never tired of eating pizza. It is still my favorite food.
Aunt Margie's Pizza Dough
6 cups flour
6 T. sugar
1 T. salt
1 T. yeast
1 cup warm water
1 cup milk
5 T. oil
Mix half of the flour and the other dry ingredients in a bowl. Add water, milk and oil. (I have also substituted dry milk powder and 1 cup of water for the milk. It works fine.) Mix well. Add remaining dough a cup at a time until you can work the dough. It should be slightly sticky. If you get it too stiff, it is hard to spread.
Lightly grease baking pan. Spread dough out using the heels of your hands. and the pads of your fingertips. Use flour to keep from sticking. Cover with favorite toppings. Bake on the bottom rack at 425 degrees for about 18 minutes. Of course, ovens vary, so check it until it looks the way you want it. This recipe will make two cookie-sheet sized pizzas.
