I love love love pizza – from the greasy generic Pizza Pizza to pretentious gourmet pizzas.  When I discovered how easy (and cheap) it is to make your own pizza dough from scratch, I went crazy with it, haha.  I even bought this “band saw” pizza cutter from Fred and friends.  I personally don’t like kneading dough so I prefer to use my food processor for pizza dough.  Some of the variations that I’ve tried include (but aren’t limited to):

– smoked salmon, mascarpone cheese, avocados, lemon juice

– mixed greens, goats cheese, basil pesto, cherry tomatoes, marble cheese

– chicken breast, mozzarella cheese, garlic cream sauce, spinach

– chicken breast, mozzarella cheese, basil pesto, sundried tomatoes, goats cheese

– hot italian sausage, roasted red peppers, tomato sauce, red onions, mozzarella cheese

– hot italian sausage, pepperoni, tomato sauce, bacon strips, dried chilli flakes

– pepperoni, marble cheese, green peppers, tomato sauce, mushrooms, bacon strips

– steak, mozzarella cheese, cooked white onions

– pesto, mozzarella cheese, sundried tomatoes

Pizza Dough for Thin Crust Recipe

makes 1 large pizza or 2 medium sized pizzas, adapted from recipe #70165 from recipezaar.com

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast or 1 package

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

cornmeal, for sprinkling

Mix a pinch of sugar into the warm water.  Sprinkle yeast on top.  Wait for 10 minutes or until it gets all foamy.

Original recipe:  Pour into a large bowl.  Add flour, salt, olive oil.  Combine.   Knead for 6-8 minutes until you have a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (add a bit more flour if you need to).

My variation:  Pour into the food processor bowl.  Add flour and salt.  You could also add garlic powder or basil or parsley or anything else you’d like to flavour the dough with.  With the food processor running, add olive oil.  Process until you have a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (add a bit more flour or olive oil if you need to).

Cover and let rest for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight (in the fridge).

If you’re using a pizza stone, see my instructions here.

If you’re using a metal pizza pan:  Lightly grease a 12-inch pizza pans.  Sprinkle with a little bit of cornmeal.   Divide dough in half.  Place each half on a pizza pan and pat it with your fingers until it stretches over the whole pan.   Try to make it thicker around the edge.

If desired, pre-bake at 425 F for 10 minutes (I don’t always do this). Then spread with pizza sauce and use the toppings of your choice.  Bake at 425 F for 10-20 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot.  Makes 2 12-inch pizzas.

If you don’t want to use all the dough, you can freeze it.  Take a portion of dough, form into a ball, rub olive oil over it and place it in a freezer bag (the oil makes it easier to take out of the bag). When you want to make a pizza, take dough out of freezer and allow to thaw before using.