Basic Pizza Dough Recipe
To make the dough a little heartier, use a combination of whole wheat and white bread flour. The best ratio is 25% whole grain flour and 75% all-purpose flour. If you use too much whole grain flour, the crust will be leaden, not light and airy.
Ingredients
1½ cups lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 package active dry yeast
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra as needed.
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for oiling bowl
Methods/steps
Place lukewarm water in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle sugar and yeast on top and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Combine salt and flour. Add to water, 1 cup at a time, until well incorporated. If very sticky, add extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until soft and slightly sticky. Add 2 tablespoons oil; mix well until dough feels elastic. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead, adding extra flour to your work surface as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking, for 10 minutes, or until smooth and easy to work with. Clean and oil the bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until it more than doubles in volume, about 1 hour. Punch dough down and knead on a lightly floured surface for several minutes or until smooth.
Divide dough into four 4 inch balls and proceed with pizza-making instructions. (Dough may be made ahead, frozen until needed and thawed at room temperature.)
Note: If you don't have time to make dough, use dough purchased from your favorite Italian bakery or pizza parlor.
ALL RECIPES ©ELIZABETH KARMEL 2019