The Truth About Homemade Pizza

I was really into making my own pizza last summer. I made the dough and waited hours for it to rise, fighting with the sticky mess to roll it out. I made the sauce and slowly simmered it to enhance the flavors, I shredded fresh mozzarella cheese, and I added toppings like caramelized onions which had their own lengthy cooking process. The other day I had a craving for my homemade pizza but I was tired. I decided to make an easier version. I found a new crust recipe that only needed 30 minutes to rise and bought canned pizza sauce and shredded mozzarella. I pre-baked the crust for 8 minutes, added sauce and cheese and toppings like arugula and turkey pepperoni (half the calories of regular).
Here's the truth: my lengthy process for making homemade pizza was worth it! I was surprised because I thought just making the dough would be enough to make a tasty pizza. But the easier recipe didn't result in the same light crust with a savory flavor. Homemade sauce is key even if you start with canned tomatoes or canned tomato sauce and add herbs and spices. Fresh mozzarella is far better than any shredded pre-packaged variety which just ends up tasting rubbery. My easy pizza recipe left me craving my more difficult pizza recipe! Now I've learned my lesson.