Pizza A-"Moore"

I finally did it! Last night I mustered up all of my courage and attempted to make homemade pizza! I had spent about two weeks researching and planning. I scoured blogs and websites, seeking the perfect recipe, and trying to learn from other people's mistakes. When morning broke I rose, walked to the kitchen....

and plugged in my bread machine! Ok, so I had a little help making the pizza. The bread machine made the dough and I took it from there. Before I tackled the dough I put in a call to my brother Ryan. He worked for Papa John's for many years and is a fabulous pizza chef (he actually earned the title of "chef" at the pizza place by passing a series of tests!). Here's a link if you want to watch him in pizza tossing action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZFzHvKY7vw Ryan attempted to guide me, but I feel that I might need some in-person lessons in order to really improve my techniques.

The actual pizza making process went ok. I heated my pizza stone according to the directions I found on the internet and went to work on the dough. I struggled a bit, but I think that for my first time working with pizza dough I did really well. I slipped the pizza in the oven and sat by wondering if it would be edible. I had a pre-made frozen pizza in the freezer, so I figured that we wouldn't starve. Neil got home while the pizza was baking, which was perfect. Pizza is always best fresh out of the oven. Finally, the timer rang and I opened the oven. Here is what I pulled out:

Not too bad if I do say so myself! I have to admit that it tasted really good. Of course I can't say that I've perfected my pizza making until I (1) compare this recipe to a couple of others and (2) improve on my dough handling!