Signature Pizza Crust

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

3. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.

5. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

EXCELLENT thick, pan type pizza crust, that was crisp on the outside and chewy/tender on the inside! The only personal perference additions I did were: I added Italian Seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder along with the salt/oil. And I baked them for 10 minutes prior to adding the toppings in a 12 inch cake pan and 12 inch cast iron skillet, that were both olive oiled WELL, and dusted with yellow cornmeal. They came out of the pan very easy onto the cutting board. It was easy to make this. Adding about a 1/2 cup grated parmasean cheese to the dough is great with the seasonings. I never roll the dough out, I just use my hands and flatten it in the bottom of the pans, working up the sides Also sometimes string cheese rolled in the crust makes the kids happy too.

I had been looking for a pizza crust similar to Pizza Hut pan style and this is the closest and best so far! It definitly makes 2 crusts unless you have a huge pizza pan. And the trick to getting a crisp bottom on your crust is to bake it on a lower rack in your oven so your crust bakes before your toppings burn.