Basic Pizza Dough

 

4 1/2 cup Unbleached all-purpose

White flour

1 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Olive oil

2 package Dry yeast

1 1/2 cup Warm water

2 tsp Light brown sugar

Procedure

1 Measure 1/2 cup warm water (110 F) into 2 cup container and stir in the brown

sugar. (Make sure water is warm, not hot - too hot will kill the yeast). Dissolve

the 2 packages of dried yeast in the water and set it aside for 5 minutes. Will

become frothy. (about 2 cups worth!)

2 Sift 4 cups of the flour and the salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a

depression in the middle of the flour and pour in 3/4 of the olive oil and 1 cup of

warm water. When the yeast is ready, add it also.

3 Dust your kneading surface with flour, then mix the ingredients in the bowl

with your hands. Place dough ball on the floured surface and knead from 8 to

10 minutes. Add flour to the kneading surface if the dough is too sticky or wet.

Eventually the dough will become elastic.

4 Rub the insides of a clean bowl with the remaining olive oil and place the

dough in it, coating the dough with olive oil by turning it in the bowl. Cover with

a clean cloth and let rise in warm, draft-free place until double in size, 1

1/2 hours to 2 hours. An oven with the light on or a lit burner pilot will provide

suitable heat for rising dough.

11

Basic Pizza Dough

5 When dough has risen, divide into two halves, then roll each out on floured

surface. A round shape be cut out with table knife using " bowl or plate as

template.

6 Sufficient for 2 12" thin-crust pizzas, or 1 12" thick-crust.

7 HINT: Before filling and baking, form rim around outer ring of pizza dough to

hold ingredients better. Brush the inside area of the dough, not the rim, with

olive oil and let the dough sit in a warm place and rise a little before filling. Then

spoon in sauce, cover with 1 lb. mozzarella cheese, add meat

toppings, then cover with mozzarella/parmesan mixture of cheese. Then brush

rim of pizza crust with olive oil. Sprinkle the pizza pan or oven tiles with

cornmeal to prevent pizza from sticking to cooking surface!

8 THE VERY BEST: Cook on a pizza stone or oven tile at 500 F. The

unglazed oven tile makes a huge difference in the crispiness and texture of the

crust. It absorbs moisture and keeps oven temperatures even. even be

removed with pizza and set on a rack on table - will keep pizza warm much

longer.