It’s National Pizza Week, so what’s on the menu? Pizza of course, but first… What is pizza?

A simple question, but one with many answers and non which are wrong! The obvious answer is, it’s food! Some may dig a bit deeper and say; “It’s an Italian meal, made with staple ingredients”. I say; lets get philosophical! What is pizza? Sure you can categorize it as food, but to me it’s more then that. It’s a basic pleasure, a source of life, a gatherer of people, an ice breaker, but also a science project, as well as an art form.

Lets have a look at the dough first. Pretty basic right? Less then a hand full of ingredients are needed, the final result however can vary tremendously, depending on how those are combined.

Commence science project! Activating the yeast for a perfect dough, requires a secret ingredient, which most recipes don’t even include. Here’s the best kept kitchen secret, a little bit of sugar make everything better. To activate the yeast for a softer and fluffier dough, you will need chemistry 101. Add a tea spoon of sugar to your yeast and water mixture and gaze at the marvel, that will develop in your very own laboratory. You will know it’s done, when an eruption of bubbles has formed, like the volcano you made in grade one science class. But wait, don’t put away your sorcerer wand just yet! Other mediums are still required for that “easy” dough. You will need to conjure up the perfect room temperature as well as humidity, no one said alchemy is easy.

This next part is for all you creative souls out there. Now that you have your beautiful canvas, aka the dough, we can begin on our master piece. Food is all about having fun, whether you are making, eating, sharing, gifting, etc. So then lets have some fun and play with our food! Imagine Michelangelo embarking on the Sistine Chapel, obviously without the Pope and his Vatican entourage breathing down your neck, but still… You get where I’m going with this. The toppings are your paint and your hand is the brush. Make a master piece, that will entice all your senses. Happy National Pizza Week!