Michelle's Quick & Easy Pizza

Another old, but favorite recipe. We don't eat a lot of pizza anymore, but this was a quick & easy pizza dough recipe I liked.



Quick and Easy Pizza Dough

We really liked the pizza dough. I think next time around we'll add more spices to the pizza dough to give it a little flavor, but both James and I really enjoyed it and it heated up well for leftovers. It is definitely a keeper. Also, 2-1/4 tsp. yeast = (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast.

Ingredients

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

and here is the pizza sauce recipe we made to go with it from Mel's Kitchen Cafe:

The Best Pizza Sauce

*Makes enough for 2 16-18 inch pizzas

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic salt
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender and blend until desired consistency. All the seasonings can be modified depending on taste – add what you like!

We only had bay leaves (basil leaves?) so James crumbled them up in the pizza sauce. I think next time we'll get petite diced tomatoes (they were a little too big for our taste) and just go the usual dried basil route. Other than that it was DELISH!