Making pizza from scratch is truly rewarding and delicious…and time consuming. I save pizza making for special occasions and I really have to plan ahead because making pizza dough from scratch is no joke.
You could however save yourself a bunch of time and buy some pre-made pizza dough or even a pre-made pizza crust! But I get so much enjoyment out of eating that yummy crust and knowing, I made that. For some reason I get very nervous when making a yeast bread, but you shouldn’t be scared. It’s easy and fun, I promise!

Of course you know you can put whatever you want on your pizza. This is what I put on mine and it has always been a big hit!

The good news is, this dough recipe will give you enough dough for two pizzas! So if you can’t decide what to put on your pizza, you can experiment and make two kinds!

Pizza dough ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (or more all purpose)
1 cup warm water, not hot
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 (1/4 oz) packet active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil plus about 2 teaspoons for the rising bowl
A little corn meal for the pan

Pizza toppings
1/2 recipe pesto
1/2 recipe tempeh sausage crumbles
1/2 red onion sliced into thin moons
1/2 can artichoke hearts
Rice cheese to taste (optional)

How to make pizza dough.
Step 1: put warm water in a measuring cup. Dissolve the sugar in the water, then add the yeast. Make sure the yeast is wet then leave it alone for about 10 minutes. Assemble your other crust crust ingredients and when you come back to the yeast it should be foamy. That means your yeast is ready to go!
Step 2: in a mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, olive oil and yeast water. Stir until its all combined, it will get sticky quickly. Clean a space on your countertop and lightly flour the counter. Move the dough to the countertop and begin kneading. Knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is no longer dry or sticky. Put about 2 tsp olive oil in a very large mixing bowl and place the dough ball in the bowl, swirling it around so it has oil all over it to prevent sticking. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, place it in a warm area and leave it alone for an hour. Here is a tip from my grandma: If it is winter and you don’t have a warm spot in your house, turn your oven on for a few minutes, just so it gets a little warm. Then turn the oven off and put the dough in there to rise.
Step 3: when you return to the dough after an hour it should have risen! Uncover the bowl and punch the dough! Return the dough to the clean, floured countertop and knead again for a few minutes, just until the dough is no longer spongy. Return the dough back to the bowl, cover and put it back in its warm spot for 1-2 hours.
Step 4: when you are ready to make some pizza, place the dough back on the counter and knead it one more time. Now, cut the dough into 2 equal sized pieces. Set one half aside. Using a rolling pin, start rolling the dough into a circle (or rectangle or other “rustic” shape!). It should get about 12″ in diameter. Lightly dust a baking sheet or pizza stone with cornmeal. Place the crust on the prepared sheet. Repeat for crust number 2.

Now to start topping them!

Spread some pesto on.

Sprinkle the sausage crumbles on and top with onion and artichoke hearts and cheese as desired.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes until the crust is lightly browned.