Ingredients
Pizza Dough: Makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas
- 1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)
- 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Special equipment needed
•A pizza stone is highly recommended if you want crispy pizza crust
•A pizza peel or a flat baking sheet
•A pizza wheel for cutting the pizza, not required, but easier to deal
with than a knife
1 Place the warm water in
the large bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm
water and let it sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. After 5
minutes stir if the yeast hasn't dissolved completely. The yeast should begin
to foam, which indicates that it is still active and alive.
2 Using the mixing paddle
attachment, mix in the flour, salt, sugar, and olive oil on low speed for a
minute. Then replace the mixing paddle with the dough hook attachment. Knead
the pizza dough on low to medium speed using the dough hook until the dough is
smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
If
you don't have a mixer, you can mix the ingredients together and knead them by
hand.
If
the dough seems a little too wet, sprinkle it with a little more
flour.
3 Spread a thin layer of
olive oil over the inside of a large bowl. Place the pizza dough in the bowl
and turn it around so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover the dough with
plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, at
least 1 to 1 1/2 hours. You can let it sit for several hours if you want.
The longer rise will improve the flavor of the pizza crust. If you don't have a
warm spot in the house you can heat the oven to 150 degrees, and then turn off
the oven. Let the oven cool till it is just a little warm, then place the bowl
of dough in this warmed oven to rise.
At
this point, if you want to make ahead, you can freeze the dough in an airtight
container for up to two weeks.
Preparing the Pizzas
1 Place a pizza stone on
a rack in the lower third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F for at least
30 minutes, preferably an hour.
2 Remove the plastic
cover from the dough and punch the dough down so it deflates a bit. Divide the
dough in half. Form two round balls of dough. Place each in its own bowl, cover
with plastic and let sit for 10 minutes.
3 Prepare your desired toppings.
Note that you are not going to want to load up each pizza with a lot of
toppings as the crust will end up not crisp that way. About a third a cup each
of tomato sauce and cheese would be sufficient for one pizza. One to two
mushrooms thinly sliced will cover a pizza.
4 Working one ball of
dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a
slightly floured work surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use
your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough
until it will not stretch further. Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then
continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter - 10 to 12 inches.
Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker. You can
pinch the very edges if you want to form a lip.
5 Brush the top of the
dough with olive oil (to prevent it from getting soggy from the toppings). Use
your finger tips to press down and make dents along the surface of the dough to
prevent bubbling. Let rest another 5 minutes.
Repeat
with the second ball of dough.
6 Lightly sprinkle your
pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) with corn meal. Transfer one prepared
flattened dough to the pizza peel. If the dough has lost its shape in the
transfer, lightly shape it to the desired dimensions.
7 Spoon on the tomato
sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and place your desired toppings on the pizza.
8 Sprinkle some cornmeal
on the baking stone in the oven (watch your hands, the oven is hot!). Gently
shake the peel to see if the dough will easily slide, if not, gently lift up
the edges of the pizza and add a bit more cornmeal. Slide the pizza off of the
peel and on to the baking stone in the oven. Bake pizza one at a time until the
crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes. If you want,
toward the end of the cooking time you can sprinkle on a little more cheese.
Read more:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/homemade_pizza/#ixzz3F2fH139m
