Pizza dough - cheap and no problem!

 So many people seem to have a fear of yeast. Yes, it might take a time or two before you produce the perfect loaf of bread or batch of cinnamon rolls, but a good place to practice is making pizza. My basic recipe for two, large pizzas is:

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
Enough cold water to form a workable dough

Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. If you have a mixer that will handle it, so much the better (and quicker!) but by hand works perfectly well. Add the olive oil and enough water to form a workable dough. Knead the dough for a few minutes to smooth it out. Add a dusting of flour as needed. The dough should not be stiff.

Vegetable oil spray two pizza pans. I got these at Walmart and the holes on the bottom insure the crust cooks through. Divide the dough into two, even portions and slap them down on the prepared sheets. Start patting out one to fit the pan. It will resist a bit so let it rest and work on the other one. Go back and forth on this until both are stretched to fit the pan.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Thinly spread on prepared pasta sauce (canned is great). Add your cheese and toppings. Brush the edges of the crust with some olive oil and sprinkle them with Italian seasoning.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the crust edges are browning and the bottom is no longer pale. See? It pays to have those holes on the bottom of the pan!

If you compare the price of buying pizza or a packaged crust, you will see how cost effective a treat like this can be.