Make-Your-Own-Pizza: Our Friday Night Tradition

One of my favorite family traditions that we just started is Friday night dinner on the couch with make-your-own pizza. I go to one of our local Italian bakeries and pick up their freshly made pizza dough. From there, I cut it up and make personalized pizzas that everyone can top themselves.

I have a pizza stone from years ago, and I pop that in the oven while it preheats to 425°. Let’s be honest, I’m not a professional baker or pizza maker by any means, so our pizzas are not typically round. Sometimes we play a game (like you do with clouds) and decide what animal the pizza looks like.

I ALWAYS start with a good-size piece of parchment paper and a generous layer of flour, so the dough doesn’t stick. From there, I cut the dough ball into four equal pieces, or sometimes two larger and two smaller ones (adult and kid sizes).

Here’s where the kid help comes in. If you have older kids, they can help shape the dough, but mine are still toddler-sized, so they help spread the sauce and add the cheese. I do have to say, take the extra time and shred your own cheese! It makes a HUGE difference. I just buy a block of mozzarella from the grocery store and shred the whole thing for one pizza, depending on how cheesy you like it.

Spread out some parchment paper and generously sprinkle flour on it. Put your pizza dough right on the flour and let it come to room temperature if it’s been in the fridge. Don’t skip the floured parchment paper, this is the trick to transferring the pizza to the stone.

Once the dough is at room temperature, cut it into four pieces if you’re making personal-sized pizzas. If you’re only making one pizza, just work the dough out to your desired size. Add the sauce and cheese, then carefully take the pizza stone out of the oven.

To transfer the pizza to the stone, I take the back of a cutting board or cookie sheet, slide the parchment paper onto it, and then slide everything right onto the pizza stone. A pizza stone is best, but I’ve also used a regular cookie sheet with success.

Cook at 425° for about 12 minutes, or until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

Enjoy dinner and a movie on the couch as a family 🙂.

 Simple & Family-Friendly: Friday Night Make-Your-Own Pizza Night

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 personal pizzas (or 1 large)

Ingredients

• 1 ball fresh (or frozen and thawed) pizza dough

• 1 jar pizza sauce (store-bought or homemade)

• 1 block mozzarella cheese, shredded

• Toppings of your choice

• Flour, for dusting

• Parchment paper

Instructions

1. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 425°.

2. Spread a large piece of parchment paper on the counter and generously dust with flour.

3. Place the pizza dough on the floured parchment and let it come to room temperature if it’s refrigerated.

4. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces for personal pizzas (or leave whole for one large pizza).

5. Shape the dough on the parchment paper. Don’t worry about making it perfect, fun shapes are encouraged.

6. Spread sauce over the dough and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.

7. Carefully remove the hot pizza stone from the oven. Slide the parchment paper onto the back of a cutting board or cookie sheet, then slide it onto the pizza stone.

8. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

9. Slice, serve, and enjoy dinner and a movie on the couch.

Kid Jobs

• Toddlers:

• Spread the sauce

• Sprinkle the cheese

• Older kids:

• Help shape the dough

• Choose toppings

• Decide what animal the pizza looks like