For one whole summer, Alex worked as the head pizza chef at a local farm and cafe and their Friday night pizza night got POPPIN'! And I don't want to brag too much, but it was absolutely because his pizza was the best pizza around. My husband makes a mean pie, friends. It's one of the reasons I married him! Seriously - who doesn't love a man who can cook?! His pizza skills were so good that literally the whole town would come out to party, commune, and share a slice each week and he became kind of small town famous for his crispy, chewy, thing crust pizzas with creative, straight-from-the-farm toppings. He would take whatever local and seasonal produce was around and make a pie worthy of a trip out even in blizzard weather - and he still makes me those fresh, creative pans weekly. I'm a very lucky lady. When we started sharing his creations at mealtime on IG, we got a ton of positive feedback! People wanted our PIZZAS! And while we haven't quite figured out how to get them to you directly through the internet, I can share our homemade crust recipe and some of top tips for homemade pizza making so you can have as much success as possible when you're trying it at home. 

Alex is the king of all things 'za in this house, and he has officially declared this the ‘perfect pizza dough’. So who am I to argue? It comes together pretty easily, makes a great crispy, chewy crust and makes enough dough for two pizzas - so you don’t have to share. It's the same recipe he used to wow all the fans at the Friday night pizza parties, so you can be sure it'll make a fool-proof, crowd pleasing crust! And that makes it pretty perfect to me. Enjoy, babes! And be sure to let me know what you think - and what you top it with - in the comments below. Keep scrolling for my top pizza-makin' tips!

Okay, babes - before we get to the magical dough recipe itself, let's go over a few top tips for making your homemade pie the best it can be! Write 'em down or print 'em out - these tips are about to seriously improve your pizza game!

1. Don't over-handle the dough! Keep your handling of the dough to a minimum until you're ready to stretch it out, and even then don't fold the dough in on itself after separating into two doughs, even though it's tempting. You want your dough to have some lightness and air or you'll have a stiff, too chewy crust.

2. Bake your pizza at 450 degrees F or more. The higher the temperature, the better. Seriously - if your oven gets to 700 degrees, go for it. You'll adjust cooking times properly, so start with about 10 mins and go from there. When the crust is golden to preference and lifts in one solid piece from the pan, you're ready to eat. 

3. Shred your cheese, or break in into smaller pieces to ensure even melting - especially if you're using vegan cheese, which tends to be less melty. Our favorite brand to use is Miyoko's Vegan Mozzarella.

4. Once your crust is tossed and spread onto your baking surface, use a fork to poke small holes evenly around the crust to reduce air bubbles forming in the crust.

5. Use a high-quality baking surface. We use a large steel pizza pan, but anything that will heat and cook evenly will work great! We use flour to prevent the dough sticking to the pan.

Now, let's EAT! Scroll on for my dough recipe - there's a printable there version, too!

PERFECT PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE 

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g) active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) warm water
3 1/2 cups (525 g) all purpose flour, plus more as needed 
2 teaspoons (6 g) salt
1 teaspoon sugar 
2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil, plus more for greasing

DIRECTIONS
Pour the yeast and warm water into a small bowl and stir. Set aside for 5 minutes.

In a stand mixer combine the flour, salt and sugar. Pour in the yeast mixture and the olive oil and using the bread hook attachment, knead the mixture together until it comes together and forms a ball. If the dough seems too sticky, add flour as needed. If it’s too dry, add a bit of water. 

Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead into a smooth, firm, ball. Grease the inside of the mixing bowl lightly and place the dough back inside. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean dishtowel and place in a warm place to double in size, about 1-2 hours.

When ready, turn the dough to a lightly floured surface and, handling as little as possible, cut the dough into 2 equal pieces. Let them rest for 10 minutes before tossing and stretching for pizza!

NOTES
Makes 2 doughs.

Dough can be refrigerated up to two days or frozen indefinitely.