homemade pepperoni pizza

Homemade Pepperoni Pizza

1lb pizza dough (you can make it yourself or pick up some pre-made)
pizza sauce (again, make your own or pick up a GOOD jar)
pepperoni
2 1/2 cups shredded cheese (pizza cheese & mozz)
olive oil (to brush on the crust)

Addtl:
cornmeal
flour
pizza stone
pizza peel
onion powder
garlic powder
red pepper flakes
dried basil

Directions:
place your pizza stone in the oven (on the 2nd rack up from the bottom) & pre-heat to 500°. make sure your pizza stone sits in the 500° oven for at least 45min to 1 hour.

while your pizza stone is heating up: flour a flat surface & roll out your dough into a circle. just eyeball it- it shouldn't be too small but not to thin/big either. it needs to fit on your pizza stone.

spread some cornmeal on your pizza peel (if you don't have a pizza peel then use a wooden cutting board) to keep the dough from sticking.

place the rolled out dough on your peel & brush with a small amount of olive oil- then start building.

spread on the pizza sauce. i eyeball the sauce- but i'd say i use about 3/4 cup or so. then i season to taste with the onion & garlic powder.

sprinkle on the cheese (again, eyeball)- i used about 2 1/2 cups because we like cheese.

lay on the pepperoni (your pref)

sprinkle the top with dried basil & red pepper flakes (to taste)- your pizza should look something like this:

if your pizza stone is still heating up then let your pizza sit. once the stone is ready, slide the pizza from the peel onto the hot stone (be careful not to burn yourself or drop the pizza. the cornmeal should help it slide nicely & you can use a spatula to help it along)

cook your pizza for about 10-15 minutes- make sure you watch it so it doesn't burn, every oven is different. my pizza took about 12 minutes in my oven (which gets pretty hot)

it's done when the cheese is melted & has a hint of brown- or however you like it!
remove from the oven (carefully again) and let it sit for a minute. then slice it up & dish it out.

Enjoy!