Weeknight Fresh + Fast pizza crust recipe

Pizza, as usual, is an all around child-pleaser in my household.  Especially when I have a little time to make a homemade crust and they can top their own to their liking.   I've tried a few from online, but today I decided to use an actual real book from the cookbook cabinet for a change.

The pizza dough recipe is all the way in the back of the book.  I've doubled it tonight to have some dough to freeze for later.

 

1 TBSP dry yeast

3/4 C + 2 TBSP warm water

1 TBSP olive oil

2 3/4 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

(Again, i doubled mine today)

Activating the yeast is the most important first step.  If you have active yeast, combining it with the warm water will make the water look like this.  Creamy, bubbly a bit, and smells like something is going on in there.   Put this in the bottom of the bowl of a stand mixer.

Measure out your flour and salt, add it to the yeast mix by 1/2 C amounts until the dough is smooth and not sticky.

Then you wait.   Put the dough into an oiled bowl (or into your warm oven), covered with a piece of plastic wrap until it rises to about double it's size. 

I turn my oven onto it's WARM setting before getting my ingredients together.  Then I turn it off so it stays around 130 degrees in there.

Then it's pizza making time!
Enjoy