HOW TO MAKE PIZZA?!

Prep: 2 hours Cook: 30 minutes
Yield: Makes 2 10-12-inch pizzas.
INGREDIENTS
Pizza Dough: Makes enough dough for two 10-12
inch pizzas
1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast
(check the expiration date on the package)
3 1/2 cups bread fuolour (can use all-purpose but
bread flour will give you a crisper crust)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Pizza Ingredients
Olive oil
Cornmeal (to slide the pizza onto the pizza
stone)
Tomato sauce (purée)
Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese, shredded
Feta cheese
Mushrooms, thinly sliced
Bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, thinly
sliced
Italian sausage, cooked ahead
Chopped fresh basil
Pesto
Pepperoni, thinly sliced
Onions, thinly sliced
Sliced ham
Special equipment needed
A pizza stone , highly recommended if you want
your pizza dough to be crusty
A pizza peel or a flat baking sheet
A pizza wheel for cutting the pizza, not
required, but easier to deal with than a knife
METHOD Making the Pizza Dough
1 In the large bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer
(such as a Kitchen Aid), add the warm water.
Sprinkle on the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes
until the yeast is dissolved. Stir to dissolve
completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes.
2 Attach a mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the
olive oil, flour, salt and sugar on low speed for
about a minute. Remove the mixing paddle and
replace with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer
and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until
the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10
minutes. If you don't have a mixer, you can mix
and knead by hand. If the dough seems a little
too wet, sprinkle on a bit more flour.
3 Place ball
of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly
with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl
so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with
plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place (75-85°F)
until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours
(or several hours longer, a longer rise will
improve the flavor). If you don't have a warm
spot in the house you can heat the oven to 150
degrees, and then turn off the oven. Let the
oven cool till it is just a little warm, then place
the bowl of dough in this warmed oven to rise.
At this point, if you want to make ahead, you
can freeze the dough in an airtight container for
up to two weeks.
Preparing the Pizzas
1 Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third
of your oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F for at
least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.
2 Remove the plastic cover from the dough and
punch the dough down so it deflates a bit. Divide
the dough in half. Form two round balls of dough.
Place each in its own bowl, cover with plastic and
let sit for 10 minutes.
3 Prepare your desired toppings. Note that you
are not going to want to load up each pizza with
a lot of toppings as the crust will end up not
crisp that way. About a third a cup each of
tomato sauce and cheese would be sufficient for
one pizza. One to two mushrooms thinly sliced will
cover a pizza.
4 Working one ball of dough at a time, take one
ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a
slightly floured work surface. Starting at the
center and working outwards, use your fingertips
to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and
stretch the dough until it will not stretch
further. Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then
continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired
diameter - 10 to 12 inches. Use your palm to
flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker.
You can pinch the very edges if you want to form
a lip.
5 Brush the top of the dough with olive oil (to
prevent it from getting soggy from the
toppings). Use your finger tips to press down and
make dents along the surface of the dough to
prevent bubbling. Let rest another 5 minutes.
Repeat with the second ball of dough.
6 Lightly sprinkle your pizza peel (or flat baking
sheet) with corn meal. Transfer one prepared
flattened dough to the pizza peel. If the dough
has lost its shape in the transfer, lightly shape it
to the desired dimensions.
7 Spoon on the tomato sauce, sprinkle with
cheese, and place your desired toppings on the
pizza.
8 Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking stone in
the oven (watch your hands, the oven is hot!).
Gently shake the peel to see if the dough will
easily slide, if not, gently lift up the edges of
the pizza and add a bit more cornmeal. Slide the
pizza off of the peel and on to the baking stone
in the oven. Bake pizza one at a time until the
crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about
10-15 minutes. If you want, toward the end of
the cooking time you can sprinkle on a little more
cheese.

Source: www.simplyrecipes.com/m/recipes/homemade_pizza/