Pizza Pie

Last night, our "Lost crew" got together and had a make-your -own-pizza- factory in mass production. A spur- of-the- minute decision meal-wise, I had my doubts that it would all come together....but it did, and how harmoniously. I might even venture to say that it was our tastiest meal together yet. The foundation of a great pizza (in literal terms, too) is a well-made crust. I have been through piles of recipes. The ones I tried in the past were either too flat, too dense, too chewy, or the biggest problem: The center of the pizza was still dough, no matter how long I baked it.

That all changed when I stumbled across a crust recipe that I received free in the mail, as random as that sounds. This crust is unbeatable. It is pre-baked before the toppings are added, and then popped back in to achieve golden perfection around the rim.

Here is the awe-inspiring crust recipe....it will make your pizza guests swoon. Enjoy!

Perfect Pizza Crusts

1-1/4 c. warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
1 envelope (.25 oz.) active dry yeast
1 t. sugar
1 T. olive oil
1 t. salt
3-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. cornmeal


Place water in a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over water; stir in sugar. Let stand 5 minutes. Add oil and salt. Stir in flour until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.
Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead till smooth, 8-10 minutes. Coat large bowl with cooking spray; place dough in bowl, turning to coat. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place till nearly doubled, about 45 minutes. Punch down down; let sit 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat 2 12" pizza pans with cooking spray and lightly sprinkle with cornmeal. Divide dough in half. Roll each portion onto pans to form circles (with a rim). Bake crust for 8 minutes, or till lightly golden (press out any air bubbles that may arise during cooking).
Remove from oven and top with ingredients of choice, then return back to oven to cook another 10-12 minutes.
Makes 2 pizzas.