Basic Pizza Dough

I've been on a mission for the last couple of months. I've been concentrating on homemade pizza. Pizza is one of my most favorite foods. I love all kinds. I've tried every alternative for dough- making fresh, buying fresh at local pizza joint, buying canned pizza dough, buying frozen pizzas, letting the dough rise in an area that's warm, letting it rise in a slightly warm oven, etc. I could go on, as you can see. I've tried it all. This is the best recipe I've found. It's all about the simple ingredients, and the technique.

I make mine first thing in the morning, that way it can rise slowly. All day. In the fridge. That's right, I go for a cold rise.  What can I say? I've had the best results. Another way I get the best results? It's not all about the rise. Oven temperature plays a huge role as well. And that oven needs to be HOT. Caliente! I heat mine (and my pizza stone) at 550º for 1 hour. Yep, 1 hour. Might I suggest not making pizza on a hundred degree day? I let my dough rest on the counter for an hour while the oven heats. After an hour, I turn the oven off, and the broiler on. Once the pizza has been piled high with ingredients, put it under the broiler for 5-7 minutes. That's it! The result is a thin, crispy crust with all those blistered pockets that restaurant pizzas have.

Pepperoni and Green Olive Pizza

That's a good looking pizza! I highly recommend that you try making your own pizza, it's so delicious. And way healthier than standard fare, since you can control the amount of processed and preserved food your family eats. It's really not as much work as it seems (of course, I recommend preparing your sauce beforehand, since that's where most of the time consuming work will come from!). Oh, and I don't have a stand mixer, so this recipe takes a little elbow grease. If you have a mixer, by all means use it and make this recipe super simple!

Ingredients (For 1 large pizza):

3/4 cup warm water (105-110º)
1 tsp sugar
1 package yeast
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp olive oil
corn meal

Directions:

1. Combine warm water and sugar in a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over sugar water. Let sit for 10 minutes. Yeast should be bubbly and active after 10 minutes. If it's not, your water was too hot and your yeast died, or your yeast was too old. Either way, do not move forward. You must start over at this point. Sorry peeps, yeast is a sensitive ingredient.
2. Add flour, salt, and olive oil to bowl. Stir until just combined. Sprinkle flour over your work surface, and dump dough onto your work space. Begin to knead the dough, kneading for 10-15 minutes. Dough will take on a different texture, and begin to move as one fluid piece. Dough will be slightly tacky.
3. Sprinkle flour on a plate. Place dough on plate. Sprinkle flour over dough, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place in fridge, and allow to rise for 8 hours. Remove from fridge 1 hour before you will be preparing it (preheat oven and pizza stone to 550º while your dough is resting).
4. Sprinkle flour over your work surface. Turn the dough out. Using a rolling pin, roll your dough out to desired shape.
5. Turn oven off. Turn broiler on. Remove pizza stone from oven carefully, place on holding rack. Sprinkle corn meal on stone. Place your rolled out dough onto the pizza stone. Sprinkle a little corn meal on top of dough. Add sauce and desired ingredients to pizza. Place pizza stone back in the oven, broil 5-7 minutes, or until desired doneness.
6. Slice, and serve!

*Recipe courtesy of Confections of A Foodie Bride*