Pizza Crust

Recently I've begun making pizza at home. While I'll still enjoy grabbing a slice or two (or more) at a great pizza joint, I love being able to control what goes on my pizza (like extra extra, and maybe another extra, cheese). I found the recipe for this in my Betty Crocker cook book, which you can see here.

Yield: 2 crusts

Ingredients:
2 ½ - 3 cups all purpose or bread flour (do not use self rising flour)
1 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1 package regular or quick active dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp)
3 tbs olive or vegetable oil
1 cup very warm water (120*F - 130*F)

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast. Add oil and warm water. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping the sides frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour until dough is soft and leaves sides of bowl. Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead 5-8 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy (during this process I added more flour by kneading it into the dough, and I also needed to add more flour to the counter top fairly regularly to keep it from sticking). Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes (I set the dough into an oiled bowl, turning the dough so it became coated in oil, and covered the bowl with plastic wrap). Continue as directed below for thin or thick crusts (Seen in the image above is a thin crust, but keep in mind it does not become a 'thin and crispy' crust).

For Thin Crusts: Heat oven to 425*F. Grease two cookie sheets or 12-inch pizza pans with oil. Divide dough in half. Pat each half into 12 inch circles on sheets. Partially bake 7-8 minutes, or until crust just begins to brown. Add toppings and continue to bake at 425* for another 8-10 minutes.

**Before baking the dough the first time, I brush olive oil onto the edges of the dough and then sprinkle on seasoning, like I have an ‘Italian’ seasoning mix that works well. You could also sprinkle on grated Parmesan cheese as well/instead.

For Thick Crusts: Grease two 8-or-9-inch square pans with oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Divide dough in half and pat each half in bottom of pan. cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 30 - 45 minutes, or until almost doubled in size. Move oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 375*F. Partially bake 20 - 22 minutes or until crust just begins to brown. Add toppings and continue to bake at 375* for about 20 minutes.

If you only want to make 1 pizza, you can wrap the remaining half of the dough in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for a day or so.