When our kids were growing up, Friday night was pizza night. This coincided with the "date night" my sweetheart and I usually had, so having our favorite pizza delivered to the house made dinner easy for the babysitter. It wasn't until much later that I learned to to make home-made pizza dough. This not only saved us quite a bit of money, but it also got our children involved in cooking and baking.

Pizza is easy to make because anything can be put on top of the crust. Gone are the days when the choice was pepperoni, cheese, or meat-lover. Feel like mint and lamb? Go for it! This may be a bit of a stretch, but you get what I'm saying. When it comes to making your own pizza, let your imagination take flight.

Tools
What you put your crust on can make all of the difference. A Pizza Stone ensures an even browning to the crust. However, if you don't have one, there are pizza pans that also do a good job.

Baking:
The rule of thumb is the hotter the oven, the better your pizza will be. If you are using a stone, place it in the oven while the oven gets hot. For a large, thick-crust pizza, the temperature should be around 400 degrees.

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Home Made Pizza Dough

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons white sugar

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

3. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. You may use your hands to stretch the dough.

4. If you would rather have an oblong shaped pizza, that is good to. Just make sure it will fit on your cooking pan.

5. Once formed, brush the crust with olive oil for a golden, crispy crust.

6. Top with whatever you want

Baking:

Dust your pizza stone, pizza pan, or flat cookie sheet with cornmeal flour. This will keep your dough from sticking to your cooking tool.

When the oven is hot and your chosen ingredients are on the pizza, put your dough on the stone, pan or sheet. The dough should be able to slide around easily. If it doesn't, lift it and add more corn meal to the pizza stone, or whatever you are using.

Put Pizza in oven

For a little more taste, you can remove the pizza halfway through the baking and add more olive oil to the crust. Using a flavored oil, like garlic, will give your pizza an added burst of taste!

The pizza is done when the cheese has melted to a medium/dark brown color.

Remove pizza from the oven

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