Pizza dough recipe

Preparing homemade dough for pizza crust is very simple. As with all yeast bread recipes, the main requirement is time for the dough to rise. You will need to prepare the pizza dough about two hours before you need to assemble and bake the pizza.

This pizza dough recipe will make enough dough for two 12-inch round pans. If you only want to make one pizza, you can freeze the other half of the dough to use for a pizza at another time. Having raw pizza dough in the freezer is very convenient. You can take it out in the morning, let it thaw and rise all day, and then roll it out and make a pizza for dinner.

Pizza dough is a very simple flour and yeast combination with minimal sugar and fat. The low fat content of the dough creates a chewier texture, which is desirable for pizza crust.

Recipe ingredients:

1-1/3 cups hot water

1 package or 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast

3-1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

Small amount of cornmeal

Begin by dissolving the yeast with the hot water in a large bowl. Allow the yeast water to set about 5 minutes. Then add 3 cups of flour, olive oil, salt, and sugar. You will add the remaining amounts of flour as you knead the dough. With your hand or a mixer, mix up the dough. It will be stiff but sticky. Turn the dough out on to your counter or board with about 1/2 cup more flour. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Add small amounts of flour to your work surface to keep the dough from sticking.

Kneading is accomplished by pushing on the dough with the palms of both hands with a slightly forward motion. Then you pull the dough back under your hands and push again. As the dough stretches out into a coil, fold it back onto itself and keep kneading. After 8 or 10 minutes, the dough will be smooth, elastic, and not sticky anymore.

At this point if you plan on freezing half of the pizza dough, cut the dough in half and wrap one portion in wax paper and then seal in a plastic bag and freeze. With the remaining half of dough (or the whole amount), place it in a bowl that has been drizzled with olive oil. Spin the dough to coat the bottom with oil and then flip the dough over. Cover the bowl with a cloth and set in a warm place to rise for 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

When the dough has risen you will punch it down and shape your pizza crust. If you did not freeze any for later, cut the dough in half and make two crusts. On a lightly floured surface roll and stretch the pizza dough.

Dust your pizza pan with cornmeal and then place the dough on the pan. Allow the dough to rest for 10 or 15 minutes. This is a good time to prepare your pizza toppings. The cornmeal dusting on the pan is an important element of a good homemade pizza crust. The cornmeal helps prevent sticking and it adds a pleasant crunch to the crust.

As you assemble your pizza, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Bake your pizza for 10 or 15 minutes. Check it at 10 minutes because with such a hot oven, things can burn quickly.

See how to adapt this pizza dough to make focaccia bread.

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