Pizza Dough

Although there are endless sources of delivered pizza shop pizzas and fine restaurants’ “gourmet pizzas”, none can measure up to homemade pizza dough. Some of those commercially made pizzas are good, they will forever remain in the shadows of the genuine goods. Although making homemade pizza from scratch is an investment in time and effort, the end result of outstanding aroma and taste simply cannot be matched by anything that may arrive to you in a box.

Ingredients

• 1 cup hot tap water. (110 to 115 degrees)
• 1-2 package(s) of Rapid Rise or regular Yeast. (Refer to Yeast instructions)
• ¼-½ cup Olive Oil
• Dash of salt and sugar. (¼ teaspoon each)
• 4 cups of white flour

Dissolve yeast in hot water and stir lightly until mixture bubbles or Proofs. Add Olive Oil, Salt and Sugar and gently stir.

Gradually hand mix in the flour. Additional very warm water may be necessary for dough-ball consistency. Place completely oiled dough in a clean glass bowl, cover with a dish towel and place in a warm area. Let rise to about double its size. Then punch down to about ¼ of its size, but be gentle when handling dough. Let rise again for at least thirty minutes.

Spread out by hand & cover large oblong pizza pan, or deep cookie sheet with a coating of olive oil. Stretch or roll dough to fit pan. If desired, cover and let rise again in pan. Jab holes in dough to avoid air bubbles. A preheated pizza stone may be used instead of a pan.

Pre-bake crust @ 375º until VERY slightly baked (Bottom should still be white). If desired, sauce or a coating of olive oil may be added to prevent dryness during pre-baking. You may then remove the dough from the oven, build and finish baking your pizza. Baking the dough separately is not totally necessary, but it allows the dough to rise completely without toppings. It may also be topped and baked in one step. You decide, you are the pizza artist.

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