Easy Pizza

the secret is out -- bake it on parchment paper for a more traditional crust that reheats well - on the same paper-

So far no one has complained when I use whole wheat flour nor when I put several big handfuls of spinach on -- you just have to pull off the stems and cut it in ribbons (or chop) and put it underneath the other stuff. Most families would want to double this recipe, I still only use 1 Tb yeast (a more generous one perhaps) for two pizzas. 1 1/2 cups water would give you two thin-crust pizzas that don't quite reach the edges of the pans.

One cookie-sheet size pizza :
1 cup hot tap water sprinkled with
1 scant Tbs yeast and then
1 tsp sugar, let sit while you gather other ingredients.
Add
scant tsp salt,
blob in about 1 Tbs olive oil (optional), and
flour enough to make a soft dough (probably about 1 to 1 1/2 cups) Add gradually if you are not sure, you should be able to
stir vigorously 40 strokes.
Now you can choose to knead it or not, skipping right to resting and shaping works fine and makes it quick and easy, kneading for 3-5 minutes makes it more like "real" pizza crust.
Let it rest covered 10 minutes (more is OK)

Roll out til nearly pan size and put on parchment-lined cookie sheet, use flat of hands to bring it to edges, making them thicker if you like. You can top it now or let rise a while first while you are chopping toppings, then put sauce, toppings, cheese (see notes below)

Bake on the lowest possible rack setting at 425 for about 12 minutes

Notes:
Some sauce options are: your favorite spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce mixed with tomato paste with added Italian seasoning, favorite alfredo sauce. Other toppings are all up to you --consider olives, peppers, onions, roasted eggplant chunks if you are adventurous, etc. to suit your family's tastes. Try de-stemmed and cut spinach, sliced mushrooms, etc. Sales on Italian sausage can be worth watching for - pull it out of the freezer and brown and make the meat-eaters happy.
I like the Italian four-cheese blends - watch those sales. You can always sprinkle Parmesan on top too, or asiago, etc.
If you have lots of differing opinions in the group, you can divide the pizza(s) up and give each person their own section to top as they wish.


If you make it with lots of veggies but then put a few slices of pepperoni on top, everyone (think kids) eats it like its a pepperoni pizza :) I freeze the package of pepperoni and pull out a handful of slices each time, it lasts for months. I also use about 1/3 of a can of artichoke hearts (no one seems to carry frozen bags you can take few out of at a time any more) and freeze the rest in two small containers for another day.

You can bake it halfway before adding cheese on top to make sure it gets plenty done and crisp without overcooking cheese, or half-cook the plain crust before adding toppings, then pull out again to add cheese the last few minutes (that's how my neighbor learned to do it in Italy)
You can precook some toppings to prevent it from getting runny with juices from using lots of veggies - or salt watery things like zucchini and let sit and drain.

One favorite (of mine, at least) is a "Pizza Blanca" version that has a full pound or more of sliced mushrooms sauteed along with a large sliced or chopped onion and chopped artichoke hearts, spiced up a bit along the way with favorite Italian-style seasonings. Sprinkle some cheese on the crust (no sauce, sorry Drew, but I still say this IS pizza), some spinach if you have fresh on hand, then spread the mushroom mix over and little more cheese over that. yum yum yum and healthy too!