Matt's Ultimate D&D Pizza

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough
1 cup of warm water
2 tablespoons of honey
¼ cup of olive oil
½ teaspoon of salt
1 packet of active dry yeast (approx. ¼ oz.)

You can probably mix these ingredients by hand, but it will take a little muscle.  I use a bread machine with a “Pizza Dough” setting (approximately 1 hr. 20 min.).  If you use a bread machine, throw your salt and wet ingredients in first, add the flour and than form a little “well” for the yeast.  As the machine turns the ingredients, sprinkle the dough with a little water so that it forms a nice “dough ball.”   After the dough has sufficiently risen, roll it our onto a floured surface into the shape of a circle (or square, or parallelogram, or whatever you like).  If you like a thin crust pizza, trim off the edges.  Often times when I trim the edges, I have enough for a second pizza. Finally, sprinkle a little corn meal onto your pizza pan and lay your dough on the pan (you can toss the dough into the air, but be forewarned when it lands on the floor; dirt does not make a good “spice.”)

Pizza Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup onion, chopped
¼ cup celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 small bay leaf
½ teaspoon fennel seed

I usually start the sauce when I have about ½ hour left on the pizza dough.  In a large skillet, melt the butter with the oil.  Add the onion, celery and garlic and saute until soft and transparent.  Dump in the tomato sauce, and tomato past and stir until smooth.  Add the remaining ingredients and bring it to a slow simmer.  Simmer for at least a ½ hour.  Afterwards, remove the bay leaf (it's always awkward when someone bites into a pizza slice and pulls out this honkin' green leaf) and spread the sauce on the pizza dough.  If you've trimmed off some dough for a second pizza, save some of the sauce.

The Toppings!
Lots of mozzarella cheese
Whatever else you like on your pizza (pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, elf ears, halfling toes, etc.)

For the toppings, I usually lay down a layer of mozzarella first, than your favorite toppings and than another layer of mozzarella.  Finally, you can sprinkle on a bit of Parmesan and/or Italian seasoning to give you pizza a little zip.  Bake the pizza at about 425 degrees for approximately 14 minutes (depending on how thick it is).  Check it at about the 10 minute mark.  Cut it up and enjoy!