Homemade Pizza Dough

Crust

• 3 cups  Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup lukewarm water

Making and rising the dough:



1.  Pour the water into a mixing bowl and dissolve the sugar and yeast.  Let the yeast and water sit at room temperature for 5 minutes, until the mixture has bubbled and expanded. If you're using instant yeast, you can skip this step.

2. Add the oil and salt, mix well then stir in 1 cup of the flour.  Add the rest of the flour, a cup of flour at a time, mixing well.  

3.  Turn it out onto a floured surface, knead and let rise until doubled in size in a bowl, covered with a towel. (this helps keep the cool air off and allows it to rise properly).  —till you've made a soft, smooth dough.    ** If you're in a pinch and are making pizza at the last minute, it will still work without rising, but the texture may be different.



4.  While the dough is rising, ready your 14" deep-dish pizza pan. Grease it with non-stick vegetable oil spray

5.  When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down with your fist (it will appear to deflate).  Turn the dough out on a floured surface and roll out thinly (remember the dough will rise slightly while baking.   Stretch the dough to make as large a circle as you can. I use a rolling pin but you can simply stretch the dough in your hands.

6.  Lay the dough in the pan, and stretch it towards the edges till it starts to shrink back. Cover, and let it rest for 15 minutes. Start preheating the oven to 425°F while the dough rests.   Many times I don't have time to let the crust rest in the pan for 15 minutes and it works wonderfully if you don't. 


Make sure you preheat your oven to 400º. 

Making the pizza:  On the prepared dough, add a thin layer of sauce, shredded mozzarella or Monterrey Jack cheese, your topping(s) of choice, and top with a sprinkling of cheese. 



Here is the link for my homemade pizza sauce