Pizza Dough

1 package active dry yeast (1 Tbs.)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3-4 cups flour
1 cup warm water
2 Tbs olive oil (I sometimes use canola oil)
1 tsp salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar. Mix 2 cups flour, salt and oil in large bowl. Add yeast mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in additional flour until the dough begins to form a ball and is easy to handle. Place dough on lightly flour cupboard and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 min.) Place dough in greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled. (A lot of times, I'll just have it rise for 5 or 10 minutes, and not a whole hour that it would take to have it double in size) Roll the dough into a circle. Bake with toppings at 450 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes until crust is golden brown.

This is one of Sam's favorite dinners. For the pizza sauce, I will use spaghetti sauce or a can of tomato sauce with Italian seasoning, or take a can of tomato paste and add a can of water along with some Italian seasoning. I like the last suggestion the best because it makes a thicker pizza sauce. As I prepare the cookie sheet to cook the pizza on, I'll first spray it with Pam and then sprinkle some corn meal onto the cookie sheet ( when I use a cookie sheet, I'll roll my pizza crust into a rectangle instead of a circle).