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Easy
Pizza Dough
Yield:
2 pizzas, 10-inch thick-crust; or 4 pizzas, 10-inch thin-crust
If you've
never made pizza dough before or if you have and wish you
hadn't, you'll be delightfully surprised at how simple this
recipe is. It takes longer to read the recipe through than
it does to prepare it (unless, of course, you have taken
one of those speed-reading courses). This dough keeps well
in the refrigerator overnight or in the freezer.
No time to make dough? Don't call for carryout! Keep your
eye out for ready-made pizza dough, which can be found in
most Italian delis and gourmet markets.
Tip:
If you can talk your family into whole-wheat dough and
want to up the nutritional bang for your calorie buck,
make a whole-wheat pizza using 70 percent whole-wheat
flour. Combine 2-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour and 1 cup
of unbleached all purpose flour instead of the 3-1/2 cups
of unbleached flour called for in the recipe. This ratio
of whole-wheat to white flour yields a more nutritionally
dense dough that cooks up like "regular" pizza.
Most
"whole wheat" pizza you buy contains very little
whole-wheat flour. In fact, you'll rarely, if ever
see a 100 percent whole-wheat pizza, because a dough made
with all whole wheat is cardboard chewy and just too dense
to please the masses.
Ingredients:
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| 3
1/2 |
cups
of unbleached, all purpose flour |
| 2 |
packages
of dry active yeast |
| 1 |
teaspoon
salt |
| 1/2 |
teaspoon
of sugar |
| 1
1/2 |
cups
lukewarm water from the tap |
| 1/2 |
teaspoon
olive oil |
| |
Flour
for the work surface |
| |
A
sprinkling of cornmeal |
 |
Place
flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a mixer fitted with
a dough hook. While mixer is running, gradually add
water, knead on low speed until dough is firm and smooth,
about 10 minutes. Turn machine off.
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|
Pour
oil down inside of bowl. Turn on low once more for 15
seconds to coat inside of bowl and all surfaces of dough
with the oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise
in warm spot until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
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Rolling
out the dough and baking the pizza
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Preheat
oven to highest setting, 500° or 550°. If using
a pizza stone, place stone in oven on bottom rack and
heat oven 1 hour.
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Punch
dough down, cut in half or fourths. On generously floured
work surface, place one piece of dough.
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By
hand, stretch dough into a circle. For thin pizza, roll
dough into a large circle with a floured rolling pin
until very thin. Don't worry if your circle isn't perfect,
and if you get a hole just pinch edges back together.
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To
prevent dough from sticking to counter, turn dough over;
add flour to dough, counter and rolling pin as needed.
Sprinkle a pizza peel or rimless cookie sheet. Add toppings.
Slide dough onto pizza stone or place cookie sheet with
pizza on bottom rack.
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Bake
10 to 12 minutes, or until golden. Remove pizza from
oven, using a pizza peel if you used a pizza stone,
and serve immediately.
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Roll
out remaining dough, top with desired toppings, and
bake or freeze in freezer bags.
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