Good old Pizza.  The food that’s always there for you when you need a quick meal.  And it’s surprisingly easy to make a really good pizza from scratch.  Did I mention it’s cheap too!?!

Getting Started

Just like any craft, when cooking it’s important to have the right tools.  You’ll need a pizza stone and a wooden pizza paddle thingy.  You can find these at any kitchen or restaurant supply store.  The stone is important if you want a nice evenly cooked pizza.

Before starting the dough, set the stove to 350 °F and put the stone in the stove.  It takes a while for the stone to heat up so you want to get that started early.

Dough

1. In a large bowl add 1/2 cup of hot tap water.  Sprinkle in 1 tsp of sugar then 1 tsp of active dry yeast.  Let the mixture sit for a few minutes until the yeast is all happy then stir it up.
2. Add 1 cup of flour.
3. Mix in the flour the best you can with a spoon.  Then use your hands and just start pulling and folding the dough.  Add more flour if it’s too sticky.
4. Once the dough is somewhat firm, spread a bit of flour onto the counter and knead the dough.  I don’t know how long you should knead the dough, I just stop once it has reached a relatively smooth consistency.
5. (Optional) Form the dough into a ball and dust with a bit of flour.  Set the dough on a pan to rise.  Longer rise time == thick fluffy crust.  Typically I leave it for about 10-15 minutes.  After the dough has risen, dust the counter with more flour and knead the dough some more to remove all the air pockets.  In a pinch you can skip this step.  The crust will just be thinner and less airy.
6. Finally, form the dough into a ball and flatten it out on the counter with your hands.  Then roll it with a rolling pin into the desired thickness.  I usually end up with a crust that is 11-12 inches in diameter.

Putting it Together

Sprinkle a bit of corn starch onto the wooden paddle and then lay down the crust.  This will help your pizza slide off the paddle when you put it in the oven.

For toppings: use your imagination!

The pie in the picture above has: tomato sauce base, pepperonis, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes (halved), sun dried tomatoes soaked in garlic olive oil, olives, and finally topped with a load of freshly grated mozzarella.

My better half made hers with: barbecue sauce base, mushrooms, green/orange peppers, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and grated mozzarella.

Slide it into the oven, and cook for 12 minutes.