Margherita Pizza| The Best Homemade Pizza Crust

We've been having pizza for dinner a lot lately. It's an easy meal that I know my kids will eat without a fight, and it's nice that you can typically throw whatever ingredients you have leftover in the fridge right on top, and it becomes a new adventure every time. I always see everyone with their fancy pictures of Margherita Pizza on instagram and this week I decided we should try it out to see if it lived up to the hype.

We had fresh basil from our garden and I never knew that basil could smell so good. It was definitely the most aromatic basil we've ever had. The smell literally filled the entire house, and Em sat on the couch with a bundle of leaves in her hands just smelling them. Apparently the baby version of catnip is indeed, basil.

The real star of the show though was the fresh Stella Mozzarella that we bought from Publix. It's a new line of cheese that Stella has recently launched and it is phenomenal. This was actually my first time cooking with real, fresh mozzarella, and now I don't think that there is any going back. You can try Stella Cheese for yourself using this $1 off coupon, and you can head over to their site to find it in a store near you.

Because I want you to be able to experience the magic of Stella Cheese, I'm self hosting a $50 paypal cash giveaway so you and your family can taste it first hand! Enter using the rafflecopter below! Giveaway will run until 7/11/16 at 11:59pm EST.

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Ingredients:
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp granulate sugar
cornmeal, for dusting pan
Toppings: I did fresh mozzarella, roma tomatoes, and fresh basil

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, proof the yeast in the warm water for 10 minutes. When the yeast has dissolved, add the flour, oil, salt, and sugar. Mix together until it forms a smooth ball.

Spray a clean mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray and then transfer the ball of dough to the bowl and toss the dough around the bowl until it is coated with cooking spray on all sides. Then place a dry clean towel over the bowl and allow the dough to rise for one hour.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough down and divide it into two separate balls. Allow the balls of dough to rest for 15 minutes, lightly covered.

Preheat the oven to 475°, and spray your cooking sheets with nonstick cooking spray and lightly dust them with cornmeal. Then prepare your favorite toppings.

When the 15 minutes is up flatten and round out each pizza dough on it's baking sheet until you have a 12 inch circle. Then curl the edge of the dough up to form the lip for the crust. Lightly brush the top of the dough with olive oil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes before topping.

Top your pizza with the desired toppings, and then bake for 12-15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese  is melted.

For margherita pizza, top with fresh basil after cooking. Slice, and serve immediately out of the oven.

This post was sponsored by Stella Cheese, all thoughts and opinions are my own.