Spending time together as a family is something that is precious to me. There are all kinds of ways to spend time with the family. One of our favorite things to do as a family on Friday nights is to enjoy homemade pizza with either games or movies. I start with making the crust about 3:30 so we can be ready to eat about 5:30 and have the rest of the time for fun and games.

The crust is an Italian herb dough which can be used for making bread, but we love it as our pizza dough. It makes 2 loaves of bread or 2 crusts, so I usually cut it in half.

Italian Herb Dough

Ingredients:

• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese (can use Parmesan)
• 6 cups bread flour

Directions:

1. Mix yeast, warm water, and white sugar together in a large bowl. Set aside for five minutes, or until mixture becomes foamy.
2. Stir olive oil, salt, herbs, garlic powder, onion powder, cheese, and 3 cups flour into the yeast mixture. Gradually mix in the next three cups of flour. Dough will be stiff.
3. Knead dough for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and rubbery. Place in an oiled bowl, and turn to cover the surface of the dough with oil. Cover with a damp linen dish towel. Allow to rise for one hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. Proceed to Step 4 OR Step 5.
4. For pizza: Punch dough down to release all the air. Cut in half. Roll each out into big circle about 15-16” on pizza pan. This is where the fun comes in: Put sauce (tomato, Alfredo, barbecue, etc.) and your favorite toppings on top – different cheeses (mozzarella, cheddar, Monterey jack, etc), meats (sausage, hamburger, pepperoni, chicken, etc.), veggies/fruit (onions, peppers, tomatoes, pineapple). The sky is the limit! Get your kids involved with putting the toppings on, too. Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes or until browned.
5. For bread: Punch dough down to release all the air. Shape into two loaves. Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet, or into two greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes. Remove loaves from pan(s), and let cool on wire racks for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Optional Garlic Butter for crust: After the pizza comes out of the oven, heat 1/4 cup butter in microwave and combine with 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Spread over crust with pastry brush or leave out for people to dip their crusts into. Yum!

Grab your ingredients, movies, games, and have a Family Fun night!

What are your favorite pizza toppings?

For more recipes stop by the Make it From Scratch Carnival.

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