Recipe for Dad’s Quick (& Easy)Pizza Dough

After the Accidental Locavore’s recent trip to Nice and a few lunches at le Safari, I was thinking about making pizza. Both of the locavore’s  parents are good cooks, however my dad tends to cook for show (wonder where the locavore got her chops?). Here’s a recipe for his quick and easy pizza dough. It’s so simple it will keep you from going out and buying pre-made pizza dough. How you “decorate” the pizza is up to you. A pizza stone really helps get a crisp crust (so would a wood burning oven…).

For the dough for 2 12″ pizzas:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 package dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Dissolve the yeast into the warm water, add the sugar and stir to mix well. In the work bowl of a food processor, add the flour, salt, and olive oil. With the processor running, pour the water/yeast mixture into the processor. Process until the dough has started to turn into a ball. You may need more or less water, just stop when the ball starts to form. Remove the ball from the processor, and knead until smooth and pliable (about 10 strokes). Put into a bowl, lightly greased with a little olive oil, and cover with a clean dishtowel. Let it rise for about an hour.

Remove from bowl, knead a few more times, and roll or stretch out for your pizza. Recently my dad got a lesson in throwing dough from our friend Moe. If you don’t have those kind of friends, check out this video.

If you’re not making two pizzas, the other half of the dough can be refrigerated for a couple of days, or wrapped and frozen so it’s always ready for your next “decorating” inspiration. Keeping a jar of good pasta sauce on hand and/or some mozzarella along with the leftovers in your fridge will make an infinite number of delicious pizzas. If you’re anything like the Accidental Locavore, you’ll find lots of fun stuff to toss on a pie. Don’t overlook potatoes, garlic, and the many jars of olives lurking in the back.