Making your first actual pizza: did your head explode?

​What was it like the first time you made an actual pizza?
 
We’re not talking a Thomas’s English Muffin pizza, or a Chef Boyardee pizza kit-in-a-box pizza. No Boboli-and-Ragu pizza.
 
We’re talking a from-scratch, kneading-the-dough-yourself pizza baked in your home oven that came out and surprised you by tap dancing on your tongue.
 
What did that pizza taste like?
 
How did it make you feel?
 
Did it change your world even a smidge?

If you write to me and tell me about your pizza, I will make you Free The Pizza Famous. (That’s somewhat less big than real famous and isn’t even almost famous. But it is famous in this blog and maybe even in the next book.)
 
For the upcoming Labor Day weekend, I’m creating a Labor Of Love pizza post all about you. It's about what it was like the first time you labored through the process of making a pizza that got you excited.
 
I don’t care what kind of pizza it was. I care only that a) it was made by you using at least water, flour, salt and yeast, and b) you were surprised by the result and it made you happy.
 
Here’s an example:
 
My first actual pizza was so good, it felt like an accident.

All my pizza attempts up to this point had been failures. This time was different. I'd read a good pizza cookbook from cover to cover. Instead of using whatever ingredients were in the pantry, I went out and bought fresh ingredients. We’re talking bread flour, a fresh packet of yeast, new olive oil and even a new bag of sugar. I got a can of good tomatoes and new bottles of dried herbs. I bought a chunk of whole milk mozzarella and a wedge of Parmesan.
 
I made a batch of dough and kneaded it until it windowpaned as described in the book. I broke down the dough into four dough balls, put them into quart bags and drizzled them with olive oil.
 
Then I did something I’d never done before. I did not make pizza. Instead, I put the dough in the fridge, and let it get busy for three days.
 
Then I made pizza. I baked it on a flimsy baking stone that I had. I baked it in a 1950’s vintage Wedgewood stove that came with my house. I followed the directions in the book.
 
I was nervous.
 
But that pizza came out of the oven and it looked like an actual pizza. Not a pretend pizza like the other times. This looked like an actual pizza. I could barely wait for it to cool. I cut it with a chef’s knife. I took a bite. It was magic. It tasted just like a pizza made by a good pizza joint.
 
I had made a pizza. It was not very big. It was not round. It was more work than anything else I'd ever cooked before. But it was a real, live pizza.
 
There ya go. Not a fancy story. It’s not even that well written. You can probably write one better. That’s because you’re going to write it in the way that only you can write it. And you’re going to write your unique story.
 
And rest assured, the editorial team here at Free The Pizza is going to buff it and polish it for punctuation and other technical elements.
 
Tell me your story of making an actual pizza. What did it feel like? Were you nervous? Was it exciting? Was it a surprise when it came out of the oven? Did your head explode with pizza delight?
 
This story can be as short or as long as you want. (Pro tip: writing longer is easier because you don’t edit yourself. And if anything needs editing, we do that for you so what you write reads like you're a pro.)

The important thing here is that you have fun. And you tell us how the labor of pizza made you feel.
 
Type out your story in a Word doc, then copy and paste it into the COMMENT box on the contact page. Use the subject line LABOR

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Not yet made your first pizza? Wondering how to start? You'll find all the dance steps right inside my weird and award-winning pizzamaker’s manual, Free The Pizza: A Simple System For Making Great Pizza Whenever You Want With The Oven You Already Have. If you’re just beginning your pizza-making journey, it’s a good place to start because it doesn’t force you to make any decisions beyond making a pizza. It’s simply a step-by-step guide for getting from zero to pizza and amazing your friends and family. And really, yourself as well. That first fabulous pizza is a glorious moment. And you'll have your own story of "My First Pizza." Learn more right here.