Stay at Home Pizza

So easy, so versatile. Use a pizza stone preheated in your oven and you will never go back to the frozen stuff.

Homemade Pizza
(This dough recipe makes enough for three 12 inch pizzas. Store bought dough works just great) Basic Pizza Dough:
4 ½ cups flour, plus extra for the counter
1 envelope (or 2 ¼ tsps) instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 ½ tsp salt
2 Tbs olive oil
1 ¾ cups water, warm
Pepperoni Pizza (makes 1 pizza):
3/4-1 cup sauce
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni slices (regular or turkey)
Olive Oil
Chicken Ranch Pizza:
3/4-1 cup ranch dressing (you can add a small amount of minced garlic for some zip)
Cooked and sliced chicken
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese
Thinly sliced tomatoes
Thinly sliced red onions
Cooked bacon pieces
Olive oil
Barbeque Chicken Pizza:
3/4-1 cup barbeque sauce
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese
Cooked and sliced chicken
Sliced mushrooms
Sliced red onion Pineapple tidbits
Olive oil
Crust: Whisk 4 cups flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add oil and water and still with spatula until dough comes together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead by hand until forms a smooth, round ball (about 10 min.), adding the remaining flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking to the counter. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Pizza: Heat oven to 500° and let baking stone or upside down cookie sheet heat for at least 30 minutes. Turn dough onto lightly floured counter and cut into three pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth round ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 20-30 minutes. Working with one ball at a time, stretch and shape the dough into one 12 inch round on a piece of parchment paper. Spread sauce over pizza, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edges. Next, add the cheese and any desired toppings listed above. Lightly brush the edge of the dough with olive oil. Put pizza (parchment paper and all) in the oven. Bake until the curst edges are brown and the cheese is golden, 8 to 13 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and remove parchment. Let the stone or pan reheat for 5 minutes before baking the next pizza.