Pizza

Edited June 1, 2015 - changed the ingredients up just a bit to make it more my own.

I. Love. Pizza. Friday night is usually our family pizza night - often Little Caesars, but sometimes Dominos or Papa Johns - but I decided to make pizza this Sunday night. And it was freakin' fantastic! We decided with the first bite that we were definitely going to do this again. The dough recipe is very easy, and within just a little over an hour we had a homemade pizza on our plates. I found this dough recipe through Pinterest, here is the original: Pizza Dough for Thin Crust Pizza.

2 1/4 tsp (or one 1/4 ounce package) active dry yeast
1/2-1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (may substitute whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup of the all-purpose)
1 cup bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
cornmeal, for sprinkling

In a large bowl, mix a little sugar into the warm water and sprinkle yeast on top. Allow to ferment for about 10 minutes or until it gets all foamy.

Add the flour, salt and olive oil. Mix well.

Knead for 6-8 minutes until you have a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (add a bit more flour if you need to). If using a stand mixer, let run for 5-6 minutes. Cover and let rise for 20-30 minutes. The longer you can let it rise, the better the pizza. I let mine rise for an hour or two when possible.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Sprinkle both pizza pans with a little bit of cornmeal or brush or spray with some sectors virgin olive oil. Divide dough in half. Place each half on a pizza pan, and pat it with your fingers until it stretches over the whole pan trying to make it thicker around the edge. 

Top as desired. We decided to use some of the fresh herbs from my herb garden, and it was amazing! We used rosemary and sweet basil, but used them sparingly and have decided to use more the next time we make pizza. Dried herbs also work well if you don't have fresh. What might you use? Before putting in the oven, use a basting brush to lightly coat the edge of the pizza crust with olive oil. If desired, sprinkle a bit of garlic salt on it.

Bake at 6-9 minutes or until bubbly and hot. 

Dough can be frozen - form into a ball, rub olive oil over it and place in a freezer bag. When ready to use, take dough out of freezer and allow to thaw before using.