Here is my super thrifty pizza procedure! 

For the crust, I use my bread machine. It saves me time, and makes a wonderful pizza dough. 🍕

In the baking pan of your bread machine:

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (NOT bread flour!)

1 & 1/4 teaspoon bread machine yeast

Set the machine to dough cycle. When it is complete, dump the dough in the center of your pizza pan. I use a 16″ perforated pizza pan to achieve super crispy crust.

Oil your hands with olive oil, and spread, press, and stretch the dough to fit the pan. You can use two smaller pizza pans. 

IF you like a softer crust, skip this part and go straight to the toppings.

IF you like a super crusty crust, place the pan on the lowest rack in your cold oven. Close the door and set oven to 425 degrees. Leave the pan in the oven until the preheat  is complete, and take it out. This “pre-bake” makes for a crusty crust and prevents the sauce from soaking into the crust. My husband loves this. Leave the oven on while you top the pizza.

Topping the pizza!

The best, cheapest sauce is homemade. I use a a pizza seasoning blend from http://www.atlanticspice.com.

Many other companies sell this blend. In a small sauce pan: one 6 ounce can tomato paste, one tablespoon pizza seasoning, 1/2 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Heat the sauce for a few minutes till it smells like pizza! 

Next, generously sprinkle with Parmesan cheese

Pepperoni or whatever you like. About 1 cup.

Place the pizza back into your still hot oven (425 degrees) and bake for 20-25 minutes.

sage