Victoria Neely

My husband and I love pizza; we have it for dinner at least once a week. We used to eat frozen pizza from the grocery store, but once I figured out how to make it myself, we’ve been feasting on homemade pizza ever since.

The pizza dough recipe I use was adapted from The Taste of Home Cookbook. Although I’m sure there are more flavorful pizza dough recipes, I like this one because it’s so fast and easy. Instead of waiting an hour or longer for the dough to rise, you just let it rest for ten minutes before you shape it and pop it in the oven.

Basic Pizza Crust
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees F)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 to 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Cornmeal
Pizza toppings of your choice

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and sprinkle cornmeal onto a greased pizza pan.

2. Add the yeast, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add warm water and olive oil. Add 1-1/2 cups flour and mix until batter is smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough.

3. Cover the dough and allow to rest for ten minutes.

4. Place the dough on a floured surface and round it into a smooth ball. Roll it into a circle using either a rolling pin or your hands; build up the edges slightly. Transfer the dough to the pizza pan. Prick numerous holes into the dough using either a docking tool, a fork, or your fingertips. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until browned.

5. Remove from oven and add desired toppings. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

Notes:

• The cornmeal helps prevent sticking. If the pizza crust still sticks, I find the best way to get it loose is to use either a bench scraper or, better yet, a Wilton cake lifter. You could also try baking the pizza dough on wax paper instead.
• Docking (or pricking) the pizza dough helps prevent air pockets that would turn your pizza crust into pita bread. Although a docking tool is preferable, jabbing holes into the dough with your fingers works well too.
• The original recipe says to bake the pizza dough at 425 degrees F for 12-15 minutes, then bake with the toppings for an additional 10-15 minutes. This might work if you can spread the dough extra thin, but I found that the pizza would always come out of the oven partially raw and doughy at the end; once the toppings were on, no amount of baking seemed to help. I find it works better to bake the dough longer at a slightly lower temperature.
• If you have a large pizza dish with no raised edges, you may find it easier to roll out the dough on the dish itself.
• You can substitute olive oil with vegetable oil, or leave out the oil altogether. Although the dough is slightly less sticky and easier to work with when you leave out the oil, it adds flavor and improves the texture of the pizza.
• Rounding the dough is an important step if you want a nice uniform circle of dough instead of a lumpy misshapen one. Rounding is done by tucking the dough under and into itself until the top is smooth and round. Here’s a video that shows how it’s done: How to Shape a Round Loaf of Bread Dough