Pepperoni Pizza

Ingredients

• Flour, for dusting
• 1 pound store-bought or homemade pizza dough
• 3/4 cup store-bought or homemade pizza sauce
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, part-skim low moisture, shredded
• 4 ounces pepperoni, thinly sliced
• 1 small jalapeño pepper, sliced into rings
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Fresh oregano, for garnish
• Steps to Make It
• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat your oven to the maximum temperature it can reach, ideally between 500 to 550 F. If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven while it preheats.
• Generously flour your work surface and dough. Using your fingertips, press down on the dough to flatten it into a disc of roughly 8 inches in diameter.
• Grasp one side of the dough at the edge with both hands and lift it up, allowing gravity to stretch the dough down toward the countertop. Move your hands along the edges of the dough as you do this so that the dough stretches evenly into a large circle. If your fingers begin to stick, return the dough to the work surface for a light flouring before you continue stretching it.
• When the dough has been stretched into a circle approximately 16 inches in diameter, set it back on the work surface.
• Place the dough on a floured peel, if you have one. If not, prepare it for the oven on a baking sheet. Pour the sauce onto the dough and lightly spread it around with the bottom of a spoon or a rubber spatula until it evenly covers the surface, leaving bare a 1/2-inch border at the edge.
• Scatter the shredded cheese over the sauce, then top the cheese with the slices of pepperoni.
• Using the peel, transfer the pizza to the pizza stone, if using, or leave on the baking sheet and place it in the oven.
• Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the crust is a deep golden brown. Remove the pizza to a cutting board and top with the jalapeño, if using, and the grated parmesan cheese. Garnish with fresh oregano. Slice and serve immediately.
• Enjoy.