How to Make Pizza Dough

B & I are trying to get "back to basics" on food. Granted, we're limited on budget (ie, Whole Foods isn't our go-to stop) and space (no growing our own tomatoes or herbs here), so we're doing what we can, which is trying to eat more seasonally, taking a break from meat at least once a week, and making "from scratch" items when we can, like bread, pasta sauce, and pizza dough.

Tonight was my first attempt at pizza dough and I have to say that it was over-the-top delicious! I got the recipe from The Pioneer Woman's cookbook. Her dough is simple and (bonus!) it's made in a standing mixer. Yeast, flour, salt, and a little olive oil are all you need for a batch of dough that makes two cookie sheet-size pizzas. We made one tonight and put the other ball of dough in the fridge to chill until we need it. I looked just now and the dough had burst through not one but two layers of plastic wrap. It's now been rewrapped in two new layers (seriously, the old ones had holes!) and then a layer of press-and-seal. We'll see how it does!

I'm pretty sure this has me sold on home baking. I picked up a $5 jar of yeast and so far have made dough for two pizzas and a loaf of bread and I've barely made a dent (used 2 teaspoons so far!).