PIZZA

Pizza. Face it, we all love it and believe it or not, you can make it at home and make it a little better than the standard thirty minute deal. I use my simple sauce recipe for this one.
And don’t shy away from making the dough--once you make it, you’ll see how easy and fun it is (especially for the resident pre-schooler in your house).

Pizza

1 package quick rise yeast
1 1/3 C warm water
3 - 3/12 C flour (you can use a whole wheat/ white combo)
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
2 balls mozzarella, sliced
generous handful of parmegiano reggiono
toppings (ideas include sun-dried tomatoes, baby spinach, grilled asparagus, grilled bell peppers)
simple tomato sauce

Combine flour and salt in large bowl. In a separate bowl, dissolve your yeast on top of 1 1/3 C warm water (the yeast should foam, if not, it may be dead). After one minute, stir yeast and water combo. Make a well in center of flour and add yeast/water. Stir with wooden spoon until a ball forms. Place ball in center of floured surface. Knead (perfect job for the pre-schooler in your life) until the ball is smooth and elastic--approximately 10 minutes). Be sure to add extra flour to keep dough from sticking.
In another large bowl, put in the olive oil and spread around using a sheet of wax paper until the entire inside is covered. Place ball in bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in draft free area for one to two hours. It will double in size.
Cover a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place ball on paper and spread out evenly onto sheet. Cover again with plastic wrap and let sit for one hour.
Preheat oven to 450.
Remove plastic wrap and pound down any bubbles in to dough. Push dough up on sides to create crust. Cover with sauce.
Bake for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven, spread mozzarella slices over pizza, sprinkle over parmegiano reggiono and add toppings. Bake an additional 5 minutes.
Remove and slice immediately. Serve five minutes later.
Yummy!