Homemade Dough Basics

"Pizza's the kind of food that draws everyone to the kitchen. Everyone can take part."
- Deborah Madison

"The beauty of pizza democracy is its simplicity" - Pete-za Pete-za

I'm on a journey. A journey to the perfect pizza. To me, the perfect pizza is cheap and easy to make at home. All of its ingredients are easily found in your neighborhood. And compared to all chain pizzas, its healthier and tastes better.

Tonight, I begin by establishing a standard pizza dough.


2 tsp active dry yeast
3-4 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 cups warm water
salt
A warm place
Patience
Pizza stone - To form the crispy and chewy crust
Pizza peel - To slide pizzas safely in and out of the oven
Pizza party


Combine 1/2 cup of warm water with yeast in a mixing bowl. Stir to prevent yeast from clumping. Let stand for 10 minutes. It should be foamy and cloudy.

Add olive oil, 1 cup of warm water, some salt, and beat in 2 cups of flour with a wisk.


Add flour 1/2 cup at a time and mix with wooden spoon. Keep adding flour until dough forms a ball, but is still moist and shaggy.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth, adding flour to keep from sticking to your fingers. The dough should still be moist.


Put the dough in a bowl that has been coated with olive oil. Turn the dough over to make sure all sides are coated with olive oil (this prevents the dough from drying while it rises).

Put the bowl in a warm place and let it rise for an hour. It should double in size.


Return the dough to the floured surface. This recipe makes enough dough for 2 or 3 pizzas. IF you're only making one pizza, cut your dough in half or thirds, place the left-over dough in a freezer bag for use later.


Knead the dough on the floured surface, adding flour as needed. You need to "feel out" the proper even consistency and texture. When the dough feels ready, begin forming a circle. I never use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. Rolling pins pop the tiny air bubbles that are important for texture.

Stretch the dough by holding the edges of the dough circle and rotate swiftly. Let gravity stretch the dough. I also use my fists to stretch out any thick dough spots in the middle.



Return the dough to the floured surface and smooth out any thick spots and form the circle. Put cornmeal and flour on the peel and place the dough on the peel. Brush olive oil over the dough.



Add your sauce, toppings, and cheese. and slide carefully onto the stone. I've screwed this step up many times, ruining hours worth of work. With enough corn meal on the peel, the pizza should slide off easily. A soggy pizza will stick to the peel and slide on to the stone in a mess.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!The ulimate pizza party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!