Our Favorite Pizza

Everyone has a favorite kind of pizza. As far as the made-from-scratch-and-deliciously-crispy variety goes, this one is my favorite.

It's really easy and quick to make. Including rising time, it takes just an hour and a half until you have pizza-induced bliss.


Thin Crust Pizza
Ingredients
4 cups flour
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp salt
Various toppings

Instructions
Mix water and yeast together. Set aside.

Mix flour and salt. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, stirring all the while. (This step is easier to do in a stand mixer than by hand.) Pour water and yeast mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until combined.

Coat a bowl with cooking spray. Place dough inside bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for up to three days, if desired. If you want to use the dough the same day, keep it out the counter for an hour of two so dough can rise.

Divide dough in half. On large cookie sheets, press dough into a thin, roughly rectangular crust. Cover with your favorite toppings. Bake for 14 to 17 minutes at 500 degrees Fahrenheit, or until crust is gold brown.

Our favorite combination of toppings so far are tomato sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, bell peppers, and red onions. (This is why it's good to have a stock of frozen, already-diced pizza toppings in the fridge.) From time to time we mix it up--you can see that in the above picture we went for freshly diced tomatoes instead of  sauce and threw in some leftover colby-jack cheese for variety's sake. We've had some very tasty success with pepperoni, olives, and other toppings.
 

Really, it's hard to go wrong with pizza. Wouldn't you agree?