Pizza Dough

This recipe comes from my brother Sticks, but I have added a couple of ingredients.

3 Cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. (or one package) yeast
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 c warm water
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 c cornmeal

Grease the pizza pan lightly.
Put the yeast, sugar, and 1/2 of warm water in a small bowl. Allow the yeast to activate. If the yeast does not start to grow and bubble, it probably is too old. Do not use it if it doesn't activate.

In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt.
Make an indentation in the flour mixture. Pour in the yeast mixture, and the 1 Cup warm water. Stir together until dough follows the spoon. Knead (using a little more flour if needed) until the dough is elastic and smooth. Allow to rise until double in size.

This next step is what I learned on television, and I really like the addition.
To roll out the dough, dust the rolling surface with cornmeal. It's okay if the cornmeal gets in to the dough, it adds a nice texture. For crispier crust, roll out thinner. For thicker crust, you can roll it to a thicker size, and allow it to rise a little more.

Place in greased pizza pan and spread with your fingers until the dough evenly covers the pan. A round pizza pan works best. Top with your favorite toppings, and bake at 350 degrees until under side of dough is lightly browned.

Pesto Pizza

I saw this recipe on television last night and tried it for dinner tonight. I thought it was good, although I also made some pepperoni pizza just in case no one liked it. I added spinach, even though the tv recipe didn't call for it.

Pesto Pizza
fresh spinach leaves
tomatoes
feta cheese
red onion
chopped garlic
pesto
Balsamic Vinegar

Chop the tomatoes and onion. Put in a bowl, and add garlic. Drizzle with Balsamic vinegar.

Brush the dough with olive oil
Spread the dough with pesto
Put a layer of fresh spinach leaves.
Layer the tomato/onion mixture evenly over the spinach.
sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese on top.

Bake 350 degrees until crust is golden.