Pizza!

Pizza dough was my first use of yeast. I figured if I messed something up and it didn't rise, it didn't matter because it's a flat bread anyway. I had never made pizza at home before, because I thought I needed a pizza stone and a peel. But you don't. You can bake pizza just fine on a baking sheet.

Now pizza is one of my go-to meals, especially in the summer: it's impressive enough for company, if I'm alone it's not so much food that I'm stuck eating the same thing for a week, and it's infinitely adaptable to whatever toppings I'm in the mood for. Yes, it involves turning on the oven, but only for 10 minutes.

The reason I never used to make pizza at home is that store-bought dough....well, it's practically inedible. Seriously, it is *so* easy to make your own and only takes 5 minutes of actual cooking (plus a little more than an hour of letting the yeast do its thing). The following recipe will serve two, three if served with a big salad and some garlic bread.

Pizza Dough
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

7 tablespoons warm water
2 tablespoons white wine
5/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups bread flour (plus more for dusting)
cornmeal

Whisk water and yeast in a medium bowl until yeast has dissolved. Wait up to 5 minutes for the yeast to start foaming. If the yeast does not foam, start over with new yeast. Stir in wine, oil, sugar, and salt. Add flour and stir until it comes together as a dough.

Sprinkle some flour on the counter and knead the dough for a minute or two.

Wipe out the bowl you made the dough in and coat the inside with olive oil. Put the dough in, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise for an hour or up to two, until it is doubled. (Or, make it the night before and let it rise in the fridge.)

Start the sauce (see below).

Preheat your oven to its highest temperature. If you have a pizza stone, sprinkle it with cornmeal and put it in the oven. Otherwise, sprinkle a baking pan with the same.

Once the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured counter and gently deflate the dough with the palm of your hands. Form it into a ball and let it rest on a floured spot with either the plastic wrap over it or the upended bowl. Wait 15 minutes.

Gently stretch the dough with your hands to roughly 12 inches round, trying to keep it an even thickness. Spread the sauce over the dough, then add whatever other toppings you wish.

Slide the pizza onto to your preheated pizza stone, or put the baking sheet in the oven.

Bake for about 10 minutes, checking at 7. Slice and serve immediately.

Pizza Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
splash of red wine
1 can crushed tomatoes
pinch cayenne pepper
salt* and pepper to taste

*Go easy on the salt, as the tomatoes already have some.

Heat the oil in the pan to low-medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute until soft. Add the red wine and reduce by half, then add the tomatoes, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered an additional 30 minutes.

Toppings

You can add pretty much any toppings you want: feta, goat cheese, or mozzarella for the cheese, and just about any meats and/or veggies you want. However, anything that needs to be fully cooked or benefits from long cooking times (meat, carmelized onions, etc.) needs to be pre-cooked in a saute pan, and if, like me, you like to pile on the toppings, it's also a good idea to pre-cook any veggies that have a high water content (i.e. peppers, mushrooms, spinach) because they reduce a lot.

Resist the temptation to pile on too many toppings: this is thin-crust pizza, and while I've never had this crust fall apart under the weight of toppings, I have had that unfortunate experience when eating out, and it's quite disappointing.

Be creative, and enjoy!