Grab a Spoon

• A wooden spoon works as well as any other utensil to mix up pizza dough. Combine yeast and warm water in a mixing bowl; add a few flavorings, such as olive oil, salt and sugar, and you're ready to add the flour. Stir in a little flour to start so it absorbs water and becomes spongy. Add the remaining flour and stir vigorously until the dough comes together.

Use Your Hands

• Once the pizza dough has come together, pour it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it gently with your hands. To do this, form the dough into a ball; it doesn't have to be perfect. Place the heels of your hands on the ball and rock them back and forth. Turn the ball over and continue kneading until the dough feels soft and pliable and the flour is completely incorporated. At this point, you can set the dough aside to rise, toss it in the freezer for later or roll it out to make the pizza.

The Rolling Pin

• When it's time to roll the dough out, you have two options. You can roll it with a rolling pin to make a circle of dough -- similar to rolling out a pie crust, or, you can stretch it out with your hands. To do this, gently pull on the outer edges, turning them in a circle as you pull. Once they've stretched out a bit, place your hands underneath the flat circle you've made. Use the knuckles of your hands to continue stretching the dough. Be sure to stretch the entire piece of dough evenly, not just the outside edges. Move your hands closer to the center of the dough if necessary.

Pizza Success

• Don't worry about messing up; you can't. So as long as you use warm -- not hot -- water, and fresh yeast, pizza dough is virtually fail proof, no matter which tool you use to mix it. Experiment with replacing half the white flour with whole wheat flour or add savory seasonings to the dough such as garlic powder or dried basil or rosemary. Make sure the oven is hot -- at least 450 degrees Fahrenheit -- for a pizza crust that's crisp, chewy and delicious.