The transformation from dough to crust requires a shamanistic initiation process of ceremonial kneading, ritualistic tossing, and enlightening exorcism of evil yeast spirits. Appreciate the journey from dough to dish with today's Groupon: for $7, you get $15 worth of pizza and more at Auburndale Pizza Company in Auburndale.

Winners of Polk County News Chief's 2007 People's Choice award, Auburndale Pizza Company’s pie flingers toss together eclectic specialty-pizza combinations from a choice of four sauce bases and more than 20 meat and vegetable toppings. Sweet barbecue sauce swathes beef and bacon, welded by mozzarella and cheddar cheese in the BBQ Pizza Feast ($5.75 per slice for all specialty pizzas). Annette's Favorite Veggie binds garden denizens including green pepper, spinach, and tomato with enough ricotta and mozzarella to ensure the veggies don't grow up, run away, and join the salad. Customers tap into alchemical aspirations with a personally designed make-your-own pizza ($10.55+, $1.50 per topping), or boycott bread with Annette's No-Crust Pizza ($5.75 for up to 5 toppings), a 7-inch tin-baked amalgamation that forgoes dough for sauce and toppings lashed together with mozzarella latticework.

Nonpizza noshes include hot sandwiches, crisp salads, and the Ultimate Combo calzone ($7.50), a golden-baked shell stuffed with traditional Italian ingredients including fresh garlic, spicy sausage, and pepperoni sliced in the shape of Leonardo da Vinci.

An array of decorative ornaments festoons Auburndale Pizza Company’s cheddar-yellow walls, evoking the Italian spirit with family photographs and a bubbling alfredo-sauce fountain. Diners hunker into plump booths with oak-toned tables, devouring dishes while debating favorite toppings or whether pizza tastes better with isosceles or equilateral slices.