Some ideas to get your wheels turning on toppings: - Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce, with red pepper flakes, steamed spinach, and shredded mozzarella - Spinach - Walnut Pesto, with red pepper flakes, sliced poached chicken, and shredded mozzarella or goat cheese
Ingredients
One package active dry yeast
.5 t brown sugar
1.5 c warm water (105-110 degrees F
.5 t kosher salt
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3.5 c flour + more onhand (I usually use 1.5 c whole wheat flour and the rest regular all-purpose flour)
Instructions
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the warm water, and let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Stir in 2.5 c of the flour.
Clean your kitchen counter and dust it with flour. Put the dough on the counter, and knead it, adding the last cup of flour, and more if you need it, until the dough is not sticky any more and it doesn't easily incorporate more flour.
Spray a second bowl with olive oil (or clean the first and then spray it).
Place the dough in the sprayed bowl, and lightly spray the top of the dough with oil as well. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let the dough rise until it has approximately doubled in size (about one hour - it's ok to leave it for longer though).
When the dough has (approximately) doubled in size, punch it down and form it into a ball.
You are now ready to use the dough in your favorite recipe that calls for pizza dough.
To make a personal-sized pizza:
Preheat the oven to 425; place two oven racks evenly to divide the oven into thirds.
Dust your pan with corn meal. {I put down a silpat first, and then corn meal on top of that.}
Dust the kitchen counter with flour, and pull off one-fourth to one-third of the dough. Roll it out on the floured counter top with a rolling pin (or wine bottle).
When the dough is the size you want it to be, transfer it to the prepared pan.
Top with sauce and toppings as desired.
Bake pizza in preheated oven on the lower of the two racks for about 10 minutes. Move the pan to the top rack for the last 5 minutes, or until the cheese and toppings brown.
The closer the pan is to the heat element on the top of the oven, the faster the cheese will brown!
Recipe by My Utensil Crock at http://www.myutensilcrock.com/2015/03/27/snow-day-snacks-pizza-dough/