Ingredients
- 1 cup water, warm
- 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
- 1 (¼) ounce active dry yeast, 1 package
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus about 2 teaspoons for the rising bowl
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- cornmeal, to sprinkle pizza tray
Directions
The first step is to "proof" your yeast. I've been told that with modern yeast technology this step is unnecessary, but do it anyway. Pour the water *be sure it is warm, not hot) into a a small bowl and dissolve the sugar in it, then add the yeast. Stir it a little bit so the yeast gets wet, and let it sit in a warm place for 10 minutes or so. When you come back it should be kind of foamy and maybe even bubbling a bit; if it is, the yeast is alive! If nothing's happened you'll have to start over with a new package of yeast.
While you're waiting for your yeast to prove itself, assemble the dry ingredients in a medium-size bowl. Once you're sure our yeast is good, add the oil and the yeast mixture to the flour and salt and stir, or mix with your hands. You won't et very far before the dough balls up and doesn't want to absorb any more flour; don't worry, that's normal. Sprinkle a little flour on a nice, clean countertop and dump out the whole mixture onto it. It's time to knead.
kneading dough is bit more art than science, and there is not real right way to do it, as long as you get it thoroughly mixed and stretched. don't work too hard at it; you're going to be kneading it for 10 minutes or s and you don't want to wear yourself out at the start.
Your dough should be a little sticky; before you start, pat your hands with flour to keep them from sticking. If the dough is really, really sticky, work some more flour into it as you knead. Soon enough the dough should become less sticky and easier to work with, in a kind magical way; now's the time to really start working it, stretching it out and squishing it with your hands. don't be afraid to treat it rough;. The more you work it the stretchier and more elastic it will be, which is what you want for pizza dough.
After about 10 minutes the dough should be nice and stretchy, still moist and tacky but not sticky or gooey. If it seems really tough and dry you've probably added too much flour. It happens. You can still use it; maybe knead it a little longer and remember to try not to add as much flour next time. Pizza dough's not hard, but it takes a little practice to get it perfect.
Form the dough into a tight little ball. You'll nee a clean bowl that's at least twice the size of your dough ball for the dough to rise in. Put a little oil (about 2 teaspoons, but it doesn't a have to be that precise) in the bowl, and put your dough ball in it and swirl it around a little, then flip it over. The idea here is to get both the bowl and your dough ball covered with oil. Cover the bowl with a clean, damp towel or plastic wrap and set it in a warm place. Go away for about an hour.
Whe you come back your dough ball should've doubled in size, more or less. Here's the fun part: uncover your dough and give it a firm, solid punch so it deflates. Sprinkle some more flour onto your countertop and dump the dough out onto it and start kneading. It should be stretchier and more pliable than it was before. Knead it for only about a minute, or until it's less like a sponge and more like dough again. Put it back in the bowl and cover it so it can rest.
How long? Its up to you. You can FREEZE the dough now if you want and then defrost it and continue later. If you're impatient you can wait as little as ten minutes, but your dough won't be very stretchy. an hour or two would be good. either way, when you've waited long enough ( and when your oven is hot enough; preheat to 500 degrees F or as hot as you dare), sprinkle your countertop with flour (again), take your dough ball out of the bowl, cut it in two. Put one portion of dough back into the bowl.
Now its time to stretch. Like kneading, stretching is an art and you'll get better with practice. With your hands, flatten out the dough a little, and then roll it out with a rolling pin until its about a foot in diameter. Then pick it up an one side and let gravity help stretch it out; work your way around it, trying to stretch it into an even circle, until you start to worry that its going to tear. Then sprinkle the pizza tray with cornmeal and set down the crust on it, pat it out a little bit more, and then apply the toppings. If the dough is just right and your stretching technique works, you should be able to get two 14 inch thin crust pizzas from this recipe. It is okay if they are "rustic."
Pizza
pizza
Pizza Dough. To import, drag image to your MacGourmet recipe box.
