Basic Pizza Crust

Categories: Dinner

Ingredients

• 11/2 cups warm water
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• 11/4 oz. dry yeast
• 11/2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 31/2 cups all-purpose flour (may need to add a little more)

Directions

1. Pour warm water in large bowl and add sugar and yeast.

2. Stir until yeast and sugar dissolve. It will take about 10 minutes for the yeast to activate. It will get foamy as it reacts. If it doesn’t become foamy, the yeast is old. Replace it and start over.

3. Stir in salt and oil and mix well.

4. Add one cup of flour, and mix until combined.

5. Add second and third cup of flour individually and combine. The mixture will become thicker with each cup of flour.

6. Add ½ cup of flour with your hands. You may need to add ¼ to ½ cup of flour to make the right consistency.

7. Take the dough from the bowl and place on floured tabletop to knead. Add more flour to tabletop, if needed.

8. Fold the dough over in halves and quarters for about 8 to 10 minutes or 100 times. This is an important step and it’s better to knead too much instead of too little. The dough should become a smooth consistency and stop sticking to your hands.

9. Rub the dough with a light coat of olive oil and place in a bowl which is also coated with small amount of oil.

10. Cover bowl, and leave in a warm place or unlit oven.

11. The dough should be left alone and will rise for 60 to 90 minutes. It will be at least double in size at this time.

12. Remove dough from the bowl and cut in half with a knife to create two dough balls.

13. Mold them into balls, press flat to remove any air, and reshape into a ball.

14. Smooth the ball and tuck the dough inside itself from the bottom.

15. You are now ready to store the dough.

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