Pizza escapade

I decided to try my hand again today at homemade pizza. On my first attempt a few days ago, I didn't make the dough properly and just cooked it in my toaster oven, plus it was really small because I didn't make much dough. This time I made it much bigger, used more ingredients and did it in the conventional oven. It came out much better than the first one.

First I set the oven to 450 degrees. Then I mixed some flour and warm water in a bowl, added a bit of sugar, baking powder and salt, and substituted olive oil with a mixture of canola oil and melted butter. I added additional flour a number of times before I was satisfied with the dough mixture. When the dough was made I buttered a baking sheet and put the dough on it and rolled it into a circle. I was trying to produce a thin crust like the pizzas at Pizza Hut, which is my favorite pizza of any kind, restaurant or homemade.

It was time to put the toppings on so I got some tomato sauce and put several spoonfuls onto the dough and spread the sauce around the dough. Next I added a bunch of seasonings onto the sauce: Italian seasoning, sage, parsley and paprika. For the cheese I took out a block of mozzarella and grated some of it right on top of the sauce, and added more Italian seasoning and sage on top of the cheese. Finally I sliced two mushrooms (my favorite pizza topping) and put them onto the pizza. The first time, I only had a green bell pepper. With the pizza all assembled, I put it into the oven and went to do other things.

I came back less than 20 minutes later and it was already just about done. The edge of the pizza was brown but not burnt. The cheese was fully melted and bubbling, and the mushrooms and seasonings were sticking to the cheese. So I took the pizza out of the oven and put it onto a cutting board. I then cut myself a slice and took a bite. I liked it but the only thing that bothered me was the dough was a bit soft and the sauce a little thin. So maybe it wasn't cooked all the way in the center but the rest of it was perfect. Therefore, I called my first big pizza a success, although I could use more work in the future.