Last Minute Pizza Crust

It’s been a long day and you are exhausted.  Ordering a pizza would be the easiest thing to do, but you almost feel guilty doing that.  Okay, I would because I’m weird about eating out.  I think most people who love to cook aren’t huge fans of letting a restaurant cook for them.  Plus, I spent 14 years in a field that overlaps with pest control, but that’s a disgusting story for another day.  Anyway, it’s getting close to dinner time, you want pizza, you have the ingredients, but if only you had a quick and easy crust…

I wanted to post this before the pizza recipe, but I was so excited about that one that I couldn’t wait.  So, by popular request, I bring you crust!

I know a lot of people don’t like to do their own pizza crust because they can take forever, but this one is fairly simple and really tasty.  The great thing is that you can also use whole wheat flour and the kids won’t know the difference.

Prep time is about 20 minutes, so it doesn’t get much easier than that.

Last Minute Pizza Crust

Ingredients

1 (.25  oz) package active dry yeast, or 2 1/4 tsp

1 tsp white sugar

1 cup warm water

2 1/2 cups flour

2 TBSP olive oil

1 tsp salt

cornmeal for dusting

Directions

In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in water (not hot).  Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the flour, salt and oil, mixing until smooth.  Rest 5 minutes.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface, rolling and patting into a workable ball.

Roll or press onto a lightly greased baking sheet dusted with cornmeal.

Brush with olive oil and garlic salt, then bake at 450 degrees for about 5 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.  This will ensure your crust cooks through.

Remove from oven, spread with sauce, cheese and toppings.  Bake 15-20 minutes at 450 degrees until golden brown or as desired.

This crust can easily be stretched to make 2 thin crust pizzas, just be sure to adjust baking time to prevent burning.