My favorite pizza topping combination is meatball and mushroom. I’ll ask for this even if it’s not on the menu! And when I make pizza at home – with my Mom’s pizza dough recipe – these are my go-to toppings. I like my own homemade meatballs for sure – but I had some leftover meatballs from a local restaurant that I thought would be perfect for this pizza. I actually like canned mushrooms – but you can use fresh if you prefer. My Mom always topped her pizza with the canned variety – so that’s where my preference comes from! Most people get their preferred tastes while growing up!
I started with my Mom’s pizza dough, which I mixed up in my stand mixer. I made this pizza after work, so you can see it took very little time. The dough took about 1 hour to rise, then about 30 min in the oven.
This is the simplest pizza recipe ever.
Dissolve:
1 1/4 c warm water (not scalding)
1 pkg yeast
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
Add:
3 c flour (all purpose)
My Mom used to make this dough by hand, and you can too!! It does require some kneading to get the dough to come together smoothly. I have adapted the technique by using my stand mixer with the dough hook attachment to do the kneading for me. This makes a beautifully smooth dough with very little effort, in about 5-7 minutes.
Let rise covered, in a warm location, for about 1 hour.
The recipe will make 1 thicker crust pizza, or 2 thin crust pizzas.
Spread each pizza pan with olive oil.
Spread dough on pan(s) to desired thickness.
Press it out with your floured fingers (like mom always did) or you can use a rolling
pin if you prefer.
Top with tomato sauce/marinara. For me, pizza is not pizza without oregano. I sprinkle dry oregano over the sauce.
Top the sauce with a generous sprinkling of shredded mozzarella. Then add the sliced or crumbled meatballs, and mushrooms. Top with additional shredded mozzarella.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 min – until lightly browned on top and bottom.
Slice, and enjoy with a Vezina Margarita!
