Pizza Party

From the back of one of my cookbooks: "The very act of breadbaking itself provides a welcome diversion from a computer screen or office- and a gratifying result, no matter one's other occupations." I think it's interesting that the book was published in 1995 when internet use was just catching on. Recipes From The Old Mill contains my favorite pizza dough recipe. Here it is (I triple or quadruple for our family of eleven):

1.Combine 1 scant TBS yeast (one packet, not rapid rise)and 1tsp sugar in 1 Cup warm water. Stir until dissolved:

Add 3/4 tsp salt, 2 TBS Olive oil, 1/2 C cornmeal, and 1 1/2 C all purpose flour(I like King Arthur brand). Add enough remaing flour (about 1 cup) to make a workable dough. At this point you can also add basil, italian herbs, garlic powder, etc.. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about five minutes:
Place in a greased bowl and let rise in a warm place until doubled- @ 20-30 min. In the winter I turn my oven on 175 , let it heat and turn off. I then place the dough in the oven (cracked) to let the dough rise. When the dough is done rising, lightly grease your pizza pan or pizza stone(I hope to get one soon!) You can make individual pizzas or a large one, whatever your preference. Dough should be stretched on the thinner side, as it rises during baking. At this point preheat your oven to 400 (some cookbooks say 450- my oven tends to run hot). Prepare your pizza dough, then place desired toppings on. The kids had cheese. The older kids and I had onions, peppers, Arugula, and pineapple:

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done. Enjoy!!!