The first thing I wanted to make with my new KitchenAid stand mixer was pizza. I am a huge fan of fresh pizza and my goal is to perfect my pizza making skills, starting from making my own dough.

My new toy in the kitchen, a refurbished KitchenAid stand mixer.

The pizza dough was being kneaded by the kneading hook.

After 20 minutes of kneading, I tightened up the dough into a ball.

The pizza dough needs to be chilled for 18 to 24 hours for its flavor to develop.

After 24 hours, I divided the dough into two portions and started stretching each one into thin crust.

However, my pizza dough did not have enough gluten; therefore, the dough broke apart while I tried stretching it into a circular shape. I ended up with an ugly-shaped pizza in my first try.

Knowing that my dough was not “tough” enough, I used a rolling pin to roll out the second dough, which is not how a pizza crust should be made!

The heat of the oven is just as important as the dough’s toughness. The first pie usually does not look appetizing due to uneven heat distribution, just like the first batch of pancakes. I turned the oven to 500 degrees and baked the pizza for approximately 8 minutes. Toppings for the first pizza: tomato and eggplant confit and ricotta cheese.

The second pie came out prettier. However, the crust was not as thin as I’d like it to be. A thinner crust can be made with a more toughened (more glutent) dough.

Homemade pizza tastes so healthy; I used good quality flour with fresh ingredients and homemade tomato sauce. With 30 minutes of dough preparation, you can have homemade pizza at least twice a week. If you don’t own a stand mixer, you’d need to knead the dough for 10 to 15 minutes longer. However, your effort will be rewarded once you can bite into the crunchy and chewy crust. Best of all, you don’t have to sacrifice your favorite food to stay in shape!