Pizza

Who doesn't love pizza? It's easy, it's versatile, and it's yummy. What more could you ask for?
My favorite kind of pizza is the kind I make with my grandma. Not too much sauce, not too much cheese, and lots of yummy toppings. She also makes it on a rectangular baking sheet, so it isn't the traditional shape. I like this better because then you can have whatever amount of crust you want: one side, two sides, or none.
Making your own pizza dough is especially easy with a bread maker: just put the ingredients into the machine according to the manufacturer's instructions, and select the dough cycle.

This is what it looks like after it's been kneaded:

And when the cycle ends (I added in some dried basil for fun):

Take the dough out and divide it in two. There is enough dough for two pizzas, so if you only want to make one, refrigerate or freeze the other half.

Take out a baking sheet and spray it with cooking oil, then pour some cornmeal in. Tilt the pan until the cornmeal completely coats the pan. Dump out any extra.

Roll out the dough that you are using into a large, flat rectangle, roughly the size of your baking sheet. Don't worry about being exact, you can stretch it out when it is on the sheet.

Transfer the dough to the sheet and stretch to fit.

Next mix together some olive oil and garlic. You can also add some herbs or spices if you'd like. I added a bit of dried oregano and some crushed red pepper.

Brush this onto your pizza dough.

Next spoon some canned tomato sauce onto your pizza. Don't use very much; just use enough to cover the top.

Arrange your toppings onto your pizza. You can use whatever you'd like. I used some chopped up sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts. My dad made another pizza for him and my brother with ham.

Now put your cheese on top. I used the classic pizza cheese: mozzarella. Only use the full fat version; I have tried using the reduced fat version, but it does not melt as well.

Bake until the cheese is beginning to brown.

I love this pizza dough recipe because the crust is so soft. It's not nearly as chewy as something you might get at a pizza parlor, so your jaw isn't exhausted when you decide to eat an extra piece :). If you wanted something a bit crispier, you could put the dough, brushed with olive oil, into the oven for a few minutes before putting the sauce and toppings on. You could also roll it out thinner.

Here's the recipe:

Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups water

1/4 cup olive oil

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 T sugar

1/2 t salt

2 t SAF yeast

Instructions:

1. Put all of the ingredients into the bread machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. Select the basic dough cycle and press start.
2. When the machine beeps at the end of the cycle, take the dough out and divide in half.
3. To prepare the pizza dough, roll out to desired size and shape.

Source: The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook

Pizza

Ingredients:

1 uncooked pizza crust

Cooking Spray

Cornmeal

2 T olive oil

1 garlic clove (minced)

6 oz can tomato sauce

Pizza toppings

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

1. Spray a large rectangular baking sheet with cooking spray. Pour some cornmeal into the pan, then tilt the pan until the cornmeal covers it. Pour out any extra cornmeal and discard.
2. Place uncooked pizza dough onto the pan and stretch out until it fits the shape of the pan.
3. Combine the garlic and the olive oil in a small bowl. Brush the olive oil mixture onto the dough.
4. Spoon some of the tomato sauce onto the dough and spread it around until the dough is barely covered.
5. Cover pizza with desired toppings and then top with the mozzarella.
6. Bake at 500 degrees F until the cheese is beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
7. Eat.