Basic Pizza Dough

Pizza is one of the easiest and tastiest foods to make on a whim or when you only have a few ingredients on hand. It's perfect with just a few toppings and I couldn't resist making myself one over the weekend.

For the pizza dough:

1 c warm water
1 package active dry yeast
2 1/2 to 3 c all-purpose flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Combine the water, yeast, and 1 1/2 cups of the flour in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the oil, salt, and remaining flour. With large wooden spoon or your hands mix the ingredients together until the dough holds its shape. You may need a bit less flour, so add the last half gradually.Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. If the dough becomes sticky, sprinkle a bit more flour over it.Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled 2-quart bowl. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. Divide the dough into 4 parts and keep other parts covered until ready for use.

Preheat oven to 400*F. Spread dough out on pizza pan or on a pizza stone and pre-bake for about 8 minutes. (**Cooks note: This is my preferred method to ensure a super crispy crust. You don't have to do this and you can easily top the dough and stick it in the oven from this point!)

For the sauce, I simply diced Roma tomato's and garlic and onion. I sauteed these together for a few minutes on the stove and topped my pizza with the sauce. Fresh basil from the garden and some thin slices of fresh mozzarella and a pizza is born!

Bake on 400*F for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.