I received a pizza stone as one of the gifts that i got for my wedding. I have had the thing for over a year now and I have never evn taken it out of the box. The idea of making pizza from scratch seems daunting, what with the spinning of the dough and all, plus I just don't know if it's really worth it. With the cost of all the ingredients compared to the cost of a frozen pizza, which ranges from $3-$7, it just doesn't seem that it would be that much better that it owuld be worth the extra cost and effort. What do you think? Is pizza from scratch worth it or should i just keep buying frozen pizzas?
[question posted by Nykkee]
responses and comments:
well we make our pizza from scratch but we use a bread maker. this makes it fast and easy and we can pick our own toppings! the kids love it and there is nothing like a pizza fresh out of the oven! [cher913]
I've never used a bread maker, I thought they only made loaves of bread. [Nykkee]
yes its worth it, making a yeast dough for the pizza is done quickly and you can use leftovers from veggies, or canned goods to make your own pizza. It tastes unique and not like the stuff you buy frozen. [book1962]
We very rarley have left overs, I have it just about mastered that I can make just the right amount of food for us that there is little or no waste. [Nykkee]
Making pizza from scratch is quite expensive. They taste great though and it is fun. It isone of those things you can do as a family or as a girls get together. Have some drinks make some pizza and chat. It is not somehting you do in a hurrry; that is when the frozens are useful. [aceballos]
Yeah it probably would be fun as a group activity, but we rarely have people over and if we do it's usually may husbands friends, as all my friends have new babies and don't get out much, so it's always me alone to cook the food. [Nykkee]
I think it's worth it, personally. Yeah, the up front cost might be a bit higher than a frozen pizza, but 1 bag of flour will make 3 or 4 pizzas at least (depending on the size). A 3-pack of yeast makes 3 pizzas. Plus, you can put as little or as much of the toppings on it as you want. You can be more creative. You can cover a pizza with 4 layers of pepperoni and cheese with no sauce if that's what you want. Ultimately, homemade pizza is better quality and 100% customizable. If the idea of making dough yourself is a bit much for you, you can always buy the dough. Some grocery stores sell it frozen, and a lot of pizza places will sell dough as well (you just gotta ask). [wiccania]
Hmm, I guess I will have to try it someday, when we have the money to spend on the extra groceries to have allthe ingredient, I really like pineapple on pizza, but don't especially like ham and the only frozen pizza that comes with pineapple is Hawaian, which also has ham. [Nykkee]
Oh I would love to have a pizza stone, I haven't had homemade pizza in way too long. It is worth it, you can choose how much sauce,cheese and ingredients you put on to make THE perfect pizza for you.. [carmelanirel]
Hmm, I guess i will definitly have to try it someday, so many people are saying good things about it. [Nykkee]
Home made pizza is soooo much better than store bought. If you do it righ tit turns out really good. I guess its because all the ingrediants are freash and not frozen. [copperkitten]
Yeah fresh ingredients probably do make a big difference. [Nykkee]
Definetly Pizza from scratch. You can add so many different toppings to a homemade pizza. I feel homemade have a better taste also. Even the ones you purchase from a Pizza shop do not taste as good as homemade. I have had a few where the toppings taste like they are either past or close to their use by date. [Goodie123]
Ewww, gross, I think I would have to go back and complain if I bought food somewhere and it tasted expired. I can't believe someone sold you an expired pizza, that's awful. [Nykkee]
If I knew a good recipe, I would surely make it at home. I think it would be more tastier than the frozen ones. [muralimn]
I don't have a recipe. If I made one I think I would have to just make it up as I went along. [Nykkee]
You can never beat the taste of a home made pizza especially on a stone...I make mine all the time, you dont have to make your own dough, I just use flat bread or you can buy pizza bases..You can make it to perfection exactly how you want it... [Calais]
I hadn't thought of flat bread, that would probably be really good and alot easier, I will have to try that. [Nykkee]
I think making your own pizza tastes better although it's a lot of work chopping up all the ingredients and cleaning up! It's a fun thing to do in a group though! [nothingbetter2do]
I don't mind the chopping of ingredeients and stuff, I just mind the mess that gets made more than anything. Unfortuatly it only ever just me cooking by myself with my animals under my feet and my hauband sitting on the couch watching tv. [Nykkee]
I have tried several times to make pizza from scratch, to no avail. It never turns out very good. I don't know why. I have even tried it on a pizza stone. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I can't find a sauce that I like, and the crust is always soggy. I have much better luck making stuffed breadsticks-bread dough with all the pizza fixin's in it. Very good! Good luck with your pizza! Let us know how it turns out for you. Oh! The pizza stone is excellent to heat frozen pizzas on, though. [girljar]
Really, that sucks. My parents use to make pizza at home sometimes, I think what they did is bake the dough for a bit before putting the sauce and stuff on. That's part of the reason I'm avoiding it, I hate takeing soemthing hot out of the over and then trying to work on it or add stuff to it because I always end up either burning myself or melting part of a package of something to the hot pan. [Nykkee]
Well, am game for making a pizza as long as the base is ready made. Its then that you can let ur creativity go wild. The amount of combinations you can try on ur pizza is beyond imagination.. i myself love trying out new stuff as topping and i've never been disappointed!! :D To all the master chefs out there.. this is the canvas you can paint ur culinary skills on. [kcool127]
yeah I have a couple packets of pre mixed dough base, but I got them over a year ago so I don't know if they are any good anymore. How long does stuff like that last? [Nykkee]
I love my pizza (baking) stone. I use it all of the time. We make our dough in the bread maker. It is expensive to start but after the first time you have ingrediants on hand. The taste is better with a home made pizza. Just like the pizza you buy in the pizza shop, it is homemade not processed like the frozen. Even if you do decide to go with the frozen pizzas, you can still use the pizza stone. Just put the frozen pizza on top of it, per manufacturer's instructions. Makes it crispier. Good Luck [sherrir101]
I will have to try that sometime. I ususally bake my frozen pizzas right on the oven rack. [Nykkee]
I think it's definately worth it when you"ve got the time. [missbdoll]
I make homemade pizza all the time. You can buy the pizza dough mix, all you have to do is add water, mix it and let the dough rise. You can also buy the pizza sauce in a jar. Then you can add all the toppings you want, mmm good. [Polly1]
Check the experation date, the yeast in the mix might not be any good. Then it wouldn't rize properly. Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving. [Polly1]
I love to make things from scratch. I have never tried the pizza but I promised my daughter a chrisstmas pizza and I plan to come through on it. I like oding it and to me it will be worthwhile getting my hands dirty and seeing my creation not someone else's coming through. My daughter will love this excitement too. So if you wish do it from scratch. I am so looking forward to doing this one with my daughter. [Sharon38]
I make most things from scratch, even pancakes, but you can buy rising crust frozen pizza at Walmart for like $3 so I have never been able to bring myself to spend like $20 on stuff to make a pizza. I will do it someday though. [Nykkee]
Yes I think it is a very good idea and we should make it quite often. [anup12]
I was brought up by the Italian side of my family, who are quite traditional, so we've always made our own pizzas from scratch, and it's honestly not as hard as it looks - I don't even really 'spin' the pizza, just kneed it, then roll it into a ball, and use a rolling pin to make it flat. Alternatively, you can always just spread it into a round tin when it's rising. I'd definetly say it's worth it, it tastes much better, and the topping's are always fresher, too. Give it a go, and see for yourself! [babiixgiirl]
Aww I bet you have a bunch of yummy family recipes then. [Nykkee]
Hi Nykkee, The grocery store near me sells pizza dough for .89, it makes about a medium size pizza which is enough for me and one other person. There are some ingredients you can buy already cut up like mushrooms and pepperoni slices. Of course the cheese easily comes shredded as well. Also, just because you buy a frozen pizza doesn't mean you have to stick with the ingredients that come with it. My roommate and I usually add an extra ingredient like cheese or chicken on the frozen pizza we buy. Comes out just as good. [barrudaki]
I usually buy those already made. I would think the advantage to making it from scratch is that your ingredients might be fresher, and you know what went into it. I like Digorno frozen pizza so we buy that brand all the time. [venshida]
There is nothing like a fresh home-made pizza off a pizza stone than some cardboard flat yucky tasting (sorry its processed food and that turns my stomach) thing you get off the frozen isle rack ! From home any ingredients and all can be incorporated into a fine upstanding pizza. It isn't really that much more expensive than buying fresh grated cheese or sauce for spaghetti than the ingredients for a great pie. And you can even two-layer it with crust on top and bottom like a calzone ! The possibilities are endless and if you have flour, olive oil, tomato paste, garlic, chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, cheese, etc etc etc I am coming over for diner and will help you make one, if you are not too far away . . . hee hee Nice to meet you sharing the light, Miss Erica Hidvegi, the Enlightenment Advisor, B.A. Psych/M.A. Transpersonal Studies- Cnslng/Author, Artist, Photographer, Entrepreneur & Freelance extraordinaire [sojournseeker]
it's no problem. i think it's really great to have our own pizaa. i really love pizza too. it's really delicious. and it's really good for the health. too. i am really happy everytime i get to eat pizza/. though pizza are not really cheap since hte ingredients are not really cheap i really have to save some money to buy those ingredients. sometimes i really have to skip other ingredients when i dont' ahve much money and when i am on hte budget i really have to choose only those cheap ingredients. [ivandcruz]
There's nothing like homemade pizza...it's the best. I don't eat pizza often but when I do, it's usually from scratch. [brimia]
I make fresh pizza all the time for my family, and I think it's not only better tasting, but also cheaper. I have 7 people in my house to feed, and with store bought pizza I would have to buy like 4 or 5 of them to feed us all, and we're really not satisfied after because they aren't so good. If I make pizza at home we only need to make 3, we have a ton of left overs, and we're always satisfied with the meal. I don't do anything exstravagent, I will do one cheese pizza, sometimes a pepperoni, sometimes a sausage, usually an onion sometimes with mushrooms or peppers as well, and sometimes hubby likes to make a chicken wing or garlic pizza. Sometimes I'll make the dough and sauce homemade, or sometimes I'll just buy fresh dough and canned sauce. Even if I buy the dough and sauce, it usually only costs around $10 for the 3 pizzas. [katsmeow1213]