Friday Night Pizza

When the kids were really little, we started making individual pizzas at home on Friday nights.  Each "decorated" their own to their liking and it killed several birds with one stone...picky eaters, wait times at restaurants with two hungry littles, early bedtimes, and it just feels special. 

I found an easy recipe and it evolved as time went on.  Now I have it memorized (wonder how many pizza nights it's been!).  This makes 4 individual pizzas. 

One cup of warm water (see yeast instructions for exact temp, I just make mine warm to touch but not hot)
2 1/4 tsp Fleischmann's Yeast
Little bit of sugar to help yeast rise

Olive oil (probably about 4 tablespoons)
2 cups flour, plus extra for rolling (you may need to add a little to the dough when mixing, depending on how sticky it is)
1 tsp salt
Herbs or spices if desired

I preheat my oven to 450, it gives the bottoms of the pizza a nice crispness and the cheese on top a nice browning.  You can set yours lower, if you'd rather (it takes longer, but pizza might rise more).

Mix yeast and sugar into measuring cup with the water while nice and warm and let sit until it rises and looks foamy.  I pour the olive oil in my stand mixer bowl first, to prevent dough from sticking.  With the dough hook (you can do this in a big bowl by hand also, if you'd rather) inserted in the mixer, add all of the dry ingredients, gradually adding the yeast water and mix, adding enough flour so that dough looks less sticky and forms more of a ball.  Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl of dough with a clean towel and sit in a warm spot to rise.  You can skip this step, if you're in a rush.  It will still rise in the oven, just not so much. 
When dough has doubled in size (or when you absolutely just need to get it done), give it a quick knead on your floured counter top and cut it into four individual pieces.  Roll out each pizza and give it a little stretch as you're rolling it out to help with texture, makes it a little chewier and less bread-like.  I like place the individual pizza doughs on a sheet of parchment paper on a large cookie sheet to prevent sticking (and less mess to clean up after baking). 

Top as you wish and bake!  I like to keep an eye on mine, the length of baking time varies wildly depending on the toppings.  Veggies take longer, pepperoni and cheese with no sauce cook really fast.  Enjoy!