Pizza Crust

After making pizza crust from a can for most of our marriage, I went looking for a good recipe we could try. I found this bread machine recipe and have prepared the dough both in the machine and the "traditional" way. Both ways worked well. We actually made a huge batch for a Pi Day party and made personal pizzas, round pizzas, rectangular pizzas, pizzas with meat, pizzas with sauce, pizzas with veggies--you get the idea. The crust was the hit of the party. --Mark

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flat beer
3 1/4 tsp yeast
3 T butter
3 T sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 3/4 cups flour
cornmeal (optional)

Instructions:

Dissolve yeast and 1 T sugar in the beer and let sit until the yeast "proofs." While the mixture proofs, mix the butter, 2 T sugar, salt, and flour. Add the beer/yeast mixture and mix until dough is smooth. Knead for a few minutes and place in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise. Allow to rise for 1-2 hours until the dough doubles in size. Punch down dough and form into crust to fit your pan or pans. You should be able to form 2 medium-sized round pizzas. You can dust the pans with cornmeal prior to placing the crust on the pan, if desired. Top with your favorite toppings and bake at 400 degrees for 24 minutes or until lightly browned.

Notes:
For bread machines, combine ingredients in the order recommended by your manufacturer and follow the instructions for the dough setting. Remove, shape, and bake as described in the instructions above.