Basic Pizza Dough

This recipe is taken from The Joy of Cooking Cookbook.

It is a great recipe to get you started on exploring pizza dough. And remember pizza and even be cooked on the grill. Enjoy!

Combine in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a heavy duty mixer and let stand until the yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes:

1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast

1 1/3 cup warm (105 to 115 F) water

Add:

3 ½ to 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon salt

1 Tablespoon sugar (optional)

Mix by hand or on low speed for about 1 minute to blend all the ingredients. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or with the dough hook on low to medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly coated with olive oil and turn it over once to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (75 to 80 F) until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Preheat the oven 475 F. Grease and dust 3 baking sheets with cornmeal; or place a baking stone (if you have one) in the oven and preheat it for 45 minutes. Punch the dough down and divide it in half. Roll each piece into a ball and let rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for 10 to 15 minutes. At this point prepare the desired toppings.

Flatten each ball of dough 1 at a time on a lightly floured work surface into a 12-inch round, rolling and stretching the dough. Pace each dough circle on a prepared baking sheet; if using a baking stone, place them on baker’s peels dusted with cornmeal. Lift the edge and pinch it to form a lip. To prevent the filling from making the crust soggy, brush the top of the dough with: Olive oil

Use your fingertips to push dents in the surface of the dough (to prevent bubbling) and let rest for about 10 minutes. The pizza is now ready to be topped and baked.