Pizza Dough

Now that we've returned to student life, we are eager to find tasty recipes for foods that are friendly on the budget. Here's a recipe we have enjoyed for homemade pizza dough that's easy to make, simple to create a wide variety of pizzas, and as affordable as can be. We pulled it from "Healthy Cooking for Two," a book by Frances Price, RD.

Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough

• In a large mixing bowl, combine 1-1/4 cups water with 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 package active dry yeast. Stir to dissolve. Beat in 1-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour and let the mixture stand until it gets foamy (10 minutes). Stir in 1 teaspoon salt and another 1-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour to get a kneadable dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for 5 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, shape each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a clean cloth and let them rest for 10 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, use a rocking motion of your knuckles, push each dough ball outward from the center to make a 6" circle.
• Brush the top and bottom of each circle lightly with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil each. Arrange the pizza circles in a single layer on baking sheets; freeze them just until they are firm. Transfer to heavy-duty resealable plastic freezer bags (you can stack 4 crusts in each bag). Store for up to 3 months.
• By freezing the dough into individual rounds, you can pull out a crust when you're in the mood for an individual homemade pizza, let the crust thaw on a baking sheet for 1 hour at room temperature, top with your favorite ingredients, and bake at 500 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.