Pizza so Easy a Child Can Do It!

When I say that this is pizza so easy a child can do it, I'm not kidding. My children, a kindergartner and preschooler, did most of the work in making this pizza. Since they can't read, I did measurements, but for actual work, they did most of it. If you decide to make this, please note that you will need at least 2 hours, most of which is unattended. If you want this for dinner after work, I recommend making the dough in the morning, putting the bowl of dough in the fridge. It will be ready when you get home.


Ingredients:

Dough:
3 cups bread flour. If you don't have bread flour, substitute all purpose flour.
1 packet instant yeast. A packet is 2 to 2 1/4 teaspoons for those using larger quantities
1 teaspoon salt (if using kosher or sea salt, up to 2 teaspoons)
1 cup room temperature water (not hot! Water above 110 degrees will kill the yeast and make your pizza dough not rise!)
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Topping:
2 Tablespoons olive oil (approximately)
1 14oz jar of premade pizza sauce (if you make your own, it's about 1.5 to 2 cups)
2 cups cheese
1 to 1.5 cups toppings

Tools:
Large mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Measuring spoon
Dry measuring cup
Liquid measuring cup
Plastic Wrap or Dish towel
Spatula


Combine the flour, yeast and salt in the mixing bowl. Stir it well using the wooden spoon. It should look something like this:

Next, slowly add the water and olive oil, stirring well. At some point it will just be easier to mix with your hands so go ahead and do so. Get all the flour mixed well and shape it into a ball at the bottom of your bowl, like this:

Now it gets to sit and yeast will do its job. Cover the top of the bowl in plastic wrap and walk away for at least 2 hours. If you have 6+ hours, put the bowl with plastic wrap in the fridge. If you have less time, leave it on the counter.

When you come back, you should have something like this:

The dough should be roughly double the size as before. At this point, turn your oven to 500 degrees.

Pour about 1 Tablespoon olive oil on the bottom of a cookie sheet (I use an air bake, but any the pizza will fit is fine). Use the spatula to spread the olive oil across the bottom of the cookie sheet.

Next, spread the dough out onto the sheet. I do a rectangle because its easy, but if you want a circle, go for it!

Add the other Tablespoon of olive oil onto the dough and spread it out using the spatula. This makes everything else go on a little easier. Pour the jar of pizza sauce all over the dough, followed by most of the cheese. If you notice, I didn't put a type of cheese. Mozzarella is the most common, but I often use a Cheddar/Jack combo and it comes out great. Add the toppings and sprinkle on the remaining cheese.

Bake the whole thing in the oven for 10 minutes. Once complete, let it cool a few minutes before serving.

By the way, this recipe is perfect for doubling or tripling if you have a crowd. Also, you can make the dough ahead of time and freeze it. Instead of letting it stand in the bowl to grow, plop the ball into a plastic bag (I use a gallon size normally). Make sure to get as much air out as possible and stick the bag in the freezer. On pizza day, simply take out the dough and unfreeze it by either putting it in the fridge or in a bowl of warm (NOT HOT) water.