Homemade Pizza Crust

Mr. Monkey thinks I'm crazy that I love cold pizza.  He wants his pizza leftovers warmed up and doesn't get the hype.  Maybe it's a throwback to when I was a teenager or even when I was in college, but I think a good pizza should taste great hot and cold.  Some pizza tastes fine hot, but as soon as it gets cold it's nasty.  Cold pizza makes a great breakfast, and if Mr. Monkey doesn't finish off his portion of the leftovers, then I'm going to have them for breakfast tomorrow! Hah!

You may wonder with all of this pizza talk why I'm including the recipe for the crust, but not the pizza itself.  Mainly it's because I was just giving this a trial run and didn't really pay any mind to quantities.  I also plan on making this again, so when I do I'll pay attention and post the recipe for the pizza as a whole.  I've got some ideas including redoing the roasted chicken pizza that you see above, a BBQ pork pizza, and maybe a cajun seafood pizza.  If you want a full recipe right away, then click here.

Homemade Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 
• 3 1/2 cups flour (bread flour or all purpose flour)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp dried rosemary (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix yeast and warm water in a large bowl.  Let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved.  Stir the remaining yeast if not fully dissolved after 5 minutes.
2. Stir together the flour, olive oil, salt, and sugar until the dough is smooth and elastic.  If the dough seems too wet, then add flour.  If you're going to use the rosemary for extra flavor, then make sure to add it with the other ingredients.
3. Coat a bowl lightly with olive oil and place the ball of dough in the bowl.  Roll it around to get covered in the oil, and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
4. Let the bowl sit in a warm place for at least 2 hours.  Allowing it to sit longer will improve the taste.
5. While the dough is rising, lightly dust a large cookie sheet (round or rectangular) with flour or corn meal.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  It should be allowed to heat up for at least 30 minutes to an hour before you bake the pizza.
6. Remove the plastic wrap from the bowl, and punch the dough down to deflate it.  Remove it from the bowl and divide in half. 
7. Take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a lightly floured workspace.  Starting from the center, press the dough to 1/2 inch thickness.  Turn and stretch the dough until will not stretch any further.  Let the dough rest about 5 minutes.
8. Repeat step 7 until the dough is the desired size.  If you are worried about the dough tearing, then you can press it out once, and then place it in the pan to further press and stretch it.
9. Move the dough from the workspace to the pan.  Brush the top with a little bit of olive oil before you add your sauce and toppings.
10. After adding your toppings, bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese (if you added it) is golden and the crust is browned.

Makes 2 12 inch pizzas.