Quick Pizza Dough

This is a wonderful, quick pizza dough recipe we tried out recently. I was very pleased with how it came together in the mixer, it rose beautifully, and the texture was fantastic! You can add additional seasoning to the dough if you'd like - such as basil, garlic powder, etc. It makes a wonderful blank canvas for your favorite pizza toppings.

We had quite a few leftovers from a recent get together that we were trying to figure out how best to re-purpose and use - we took an artichoke dip, roasted red peppers, hummus, mozzarella balls, sliced tomatoes, banana peppers, and some salami and made this Mediterranean themed pizza. It was delicious! Hummus makes a great, fun base for a pizza night twist. 

My Baby Baker had a great time rolling out and topping her own pepperoni pizza as well. I'm not sure where the time keeps flying - can't believe she's already 5, and she's getting so good at helping with our cooking and baking projects. We still have the occasional dumping of an ingredient in the wrong direction - but she's learning and I love having such a happy helper! If only I could get her more interested in cleaning up afterwards! :D

Quick Pizza Dough from Sugar Spun Run

Ingredients
2-2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour OR bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoon (1 packet) yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 TBS olive oil
3/4 cup warm water

Directions

1. Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to combine then set aside for 5-10 minutes until bubbly and activated.
2.  Add in 1 cup of the flour and all remaining ingredients. Place a dough hook in your stand mixer and set to medium. Slowly add in additional flour until a ball forms, allow to knead about 4-5 minutes. 
3. Remove dough from bowl and spread a little olive oil around the bottom and sides of bowl. Return dough to bowl and cover with a tea towel. Set in a warm place and allow to rise 30-60 minutes, until doubled in size.
4. When the dough is risen, if you are going to bake your pizza immediately, preheat your oven to 425 degrees at this point.
5. Deflate the dough and scrape out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently 3-4 times until smooth, then use a flour coated rolling pin to roll out to fit your pizza pan.
6. Top as desired and bake in preheated oven for 13-15 minutes until golden brown and baked through.