Making the perfect pizza dough is not hard, but you do need to know a few basic rules before you start making yours. Firstly, it’s essential to use the right kind of flour. You’ll need the right flour with medium protein content and this is sold as strong, bakers, or pizza flour.
The second tip is to never combine the salt and yeast together as the salt can kill the yeast and you’ll end up with a brick of a pizza. To start with, you will need a bowl of a food processor, mix three cups of all-purpose flour and 1 tsp of salt. Now add the water-yeast mixture and then 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
Spray a large bowl with cooking spray, and then drop in your dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for at least one hour so the dough can rise. Your dough should have doubled in size after at least an hour. You can then store the extra crust in the refrigerator.
When pulling the crust out the next day, just make sure to bring it to room temperature for about 5 to 10 minutes before you start working with it.
Ingredients;
- 2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour, may substitute whole wheat for 1 cup of the all-purpose
- 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
- 1⁄4 tsp salt
- 1 cup of warm water
- 1⁄2 tbsp (up to 1) olive oil
- 1 cornmeal, for sprinkling
- 1 1/2(20 grams) teaspoons sugar
Instructions;
- Mix a little sugar into the warm water. Sprinkle yeast on top. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes or until it gets foamy.
- Pour yeast into a large bowl. Add flour, salt, and olive oil and mix to combine.
- Knead for 6-8 minutes until the dough is moderately stiff and smooth and elastic.
- Cover the dough and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly grease two 12-inch pizza pans. Sprinkle with a little bit of cornmeal.
- Divide dough in half. Place each half on a pizza pan and pat it with your fingers until it stretches over the whole pan. Try to make it thicker around the edge.
- If desired, pre-bake for 10 minutes.
- Spread with pizza sauce and cover with toppings of your choice.
- Bake for 10-20 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot.
- To freeze the dough: Take a portion of the dough, form it into a ball, rub it with olive oil, and place it in a freezer bag. Thaw before using.