Make it Monday: Pizza Dough

     So, I know I normally save "food" entries for Tuesday, but pizza dough seemed so, let's say, "anti-climatic" that I didn't feel like making it "the" recipe for the week. And actually, tomorrow's recipe will be a kind of pizza, so I thought it would be best to share a pizza dough recipe first. 
     Now that I got all the whys out of the way, here is the recipe I frequently use when I make homemade pizza crust. And don't be afraid--it's not complicated!

     2 1/4 cups flour
     1 tsp yeast
     3/4 water
     1/2 tsp salt
     1 TBSP olive oil

     First mix up the dry ingredients (flour, yeast, salt). Then mix in the water and olive oil. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. If you have a Kitchenaid (or similar) stand mixer, you can do it with the dough hook. Add flour as you go, if necessary.
     If you need to do it by hand, dump the dough on a floured surface and push into the dough with the heel of your hand. Fold the dough in half, give it a quarter turn and do it again. Over and over and...this is why I use my dough hook. :-P
     Either way, you'll need to knead (haha) about 10 minutes. Once the dough makes a nice, smooth ball, place it in an oiled bowl and cover. Allow to rise about 2 hours. 
     Split the dough in half to make 2 smaller pizzas. Or just make one really big pizza! You will want to stretch this out as thin as it can go. Add the toppings of your choice and bake in a preheated oven at 500 degrees about ten minutes, until lightly browned. 450 will work too. 
     For best results, use a pizza stone and spread a thin layer of fine cornmeal on it before placing the dough on it. The cornmeal helps it not to stick so much. The pizza stone gives it a crispier crust. 
     What are your favorite pizza topping combos?