FIVE CHEESE PIZZA - Cook with Kushi

Five Cheese Pizza is a classic recipe prepared using marinara sauce, my favorite 5 cheeses and seasonings and fresh homemade pizza dough. Cheese pizza may sound simple to you, but with blend of cheeses it tastes just amazing. A recipe that the entire family is not only guaranteed to love but also will crave for it often.

This is a perfect dish for your holiday gatherings, your next weekend party or any other occasion. Make your memorial day weekend much more delicious with this five cheese pizza, along with

We love to bake pizza at home at least once a week, specially on Friday nights, from scratch. And every time we prepare it we try out different variations. Love to play around with the toppings and the crust. May be regular pizza, deep dish, double cheese, thin crust, pan pizza and what not. The only reason you are not seeing them on my blog is because my family cannot wait to grab a bite as soon as it is out. So I never get a chance to click photos. So this time I made sure I at least get a few shots even before I serve.

And among pizzas, if you ask me which is our favorite I would say a simple plain pizza with lot of cheese 🙂 But for any pizza what matters the most is the thick, puffy and chewy crust. Don't even think that making a crust at home is waste of time or difficult. It's just like making your favorite bread, but only quicker. And when it comes to the taste and texture it is much better when compared to any restaurant or store bought pizza.

I generally like making marinara sauce a little spicier and flavorful so I add some of my favorite seasonings. But these are totally optional. If you are adding them you can vary the amount as per your taste. I have also combined five of my favorite cheeses ( Mozzarella, Cheddar, Gouda, Provolone, and Parmesan) in the recipe. Sometimes I even add Monterey jack cheese and make it six cheese pizza but because it was not in stock I ended up making five cheese pizza tonight 🙂

If you are a cheese lover just like us then don't miss to give this recipe a try. While you are here you can also check out my other pizza recipes

Mushroom pizza with caramelized onions
Kale pesto pizza
Puff pastry pizza

I would love to know which are your favorite pizza toppings or cheese blends in the comment section below. I would love to give it a try.

Preparation time : 20 minutes
Rest time : 1 hour
Baking time : 15 minutes
Serves : One 16 inch pizza (8 pieces)

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Ingredients for Five Cheese Pizza

Pizza Dough
Warm water - 1 ½ cup
Sugar - 1 ½ tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Active dry yeast - 1 packet ( 2 ¼ tsp)
All purpose flour - 3 ¾ cup
Vegetable shortening - 2 tbsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp

For the topping
Mozzarella Cheese - ⅓ cup
Sharp Cheddar - ⅓ cup
Provolone Cheese - ⅓ cup
Gouda Cheese - ⅓ cup
Parmesan Cheese - ⅓ cup
Marinara sauce - 1 cup

(optional sauce seasoning)
Red chile powder - 1 tsp
Garlic powder - 1 tsp
Onion powder - 1 tsp
Dried basil leaves - 1 tsp
Italian seasoning - 1 tsp

Steps to prepare Five Cheese Pizza

Step I

In a bowl with warm water, add sugar and salt and mix.
Sprinkle the yeast and cover it for 5 to 10 minutes or until yeast is activated.
Now add shortening and flour, and knead it until you get a smooth elastic dough. You may have to vary the amount of flour depending on the weather condition.
Brush the bowl with olive oil. Transfer the dough. Cover and let it sit for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until nearly doubled in size.

Step II

In a small bowl add in marinara sauce and optional seasoning mentioned, mix well and keep it aside.
In another bowl combine all the cheese and keep it aside.

Step III