Pizza Dough

This is a great recipe from my great friend, Chrissy. I use it for lots of varieties of pizza and calzones. Start to finish, it only takes about an hour, doesn't need to be kneaded (see what I did there?), and you don't need any special equipment - just measuring cups and a spoon.

It's nice and dense and always bakes great: crusty on the outside, soft on the inside.

Pizza Dough

Makes: 11x14" pizza OR 12" round pizza OR one large (family size) calzone OR 8 small calzones

You'll need:

2 t active dry yeast

1 c warm water

1 t sugar

1 t salt

2 T olive oil (or vegetable oil)

2 1/2 c flour

Dump the yeast into the warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes. Don't bother stirring, because it'll pretty much dissolve itself. After 5 minutes, it looks like this:

Stir in the sugar, salt, and oil...

... and add the flour last.

Just stir with that spoon until it comes together into a ball.

Cover the bowl with a towel and let it stand for 15-20 minutes. Time to shape the dough.

If you're using something other than a pizza stone or a good nonstick baking pan, you'll want to grease the pan. This dough is quite sticky. You can spread it by just pushing it around with the back of a metal spoon, or grease your fingers and stretch it by hand, but the best option by far is a silicone dough roller like this one from Pampered Chef. It'll roll out that dough for you in about 30 seconds.

Sometimes having a specialized tool is TOTALLY worth it.

After shaping the dough and topping your pizza or filling your calzone, bake it at 425 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

Tip: Put some cornmeal on your pizza stone or greased pizza pan/cookie sheet, then slide your rolled-out dough on top, for a great crunch to your pizza.