For a long time, we had pizza weekly. Sometimes even twice because we would have homemade pizza one night and then have pizza when we did our Costco shopping. While Costco pizza is a super good buy, it is still cheaper to make your own.

Especially if you are picking up your ingredients at Costco. Which I do.

We kind of got burned out on pizza, but it is now finding its way onto our meal plans again. I used to have the recipe memorized, but since it has been so long the most recent time I made it, it kind of flopped because I thought I could remember the recipe. Turns out, no.

Don’t you worry, I grabbed my recipe card to share with you here. This started as a dinner roll recipe for me and I tweaked it a bit to make it a yummy pizza crust.

Pizza Dough Recipe

• 1 1/4 c. warm water
• 3 t. yeast
• 2-3 T. sugar
• 1 t. salt
• 6 T. butter, cut in pieces and at room temp OR 1/3 c. olive oil
• 4 cups flour

Put the yeast in the bowl of your mixer and pour the warm water over it (do not get this too hot, it will kill your yeast). Let this sit for a minute or two, this is called letting your yeast bloom.

Add the sugar to your water/yeast mixture. Drop in the butter pieces or pour in your olive oil. Sprinkle your flour on top and then the salt. Using your dough hook, mix up the dough until it is soft and holds together nicely. I usually do this for about 8-10 minutes. Sometimes you need to add a little extra flour or a little water to get your dough the right consistency.

Cover the mixing bowl with a clean dish towel or plastic wrap and let sit for about 1 1/2 hours. The dough should be double the size it started from. This dough is enough to make 2 large pizzas on my large pizza stones.

Spread your dough out on your oiled or seasoned pans/stones and then top them with whatever toppings you want.

I usually bake the pizzas at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.

Ways to Top Your Pizza Crust

Our favorite ways to top our pizza crust:

• mozzarella, pepperoni, and pineapple with regular pizza sauce
• chicken, bell peppers, red onion, pineapple, and mozzarella with barbecue sauce
• chicken, bacon, and mozzarella on ranch dressing
• brussel sprout, bacon, mozzarella, and parmesan

There are many creative ways to top your homemade dough. Here is a list of ideas to get you going beyond the traditional cheese and/or pepperoni:

• Grilled Gorgonzola, Spinach, and Mushroom
• Kentucky Hot Brown Pizza
• Sausage and Balsamic-Caramelized Onion
• Buffalo Chicken Pizza
• Mac and Cheese Barbecue Chicken Pizza
• Chicken Pesto Pizza
• Huevos Rancheros Pizza
• Dairy Free Veggie Pizza
• Cheeseburger Pizza
• BLT Pizza
• Greek Style Pizza
• Spicy Vegetarian Pizza
• Tuscan Chicken Pizza
• White Pizza with Bacon and Tomatoes
• BBQ Chicken and Red Grape
• Chicago Style Pizza