Pizza Dough
One of the keys to making a good pizza crust is to make sure that it is not too wet after it has had some time to rise. This crust dough is very moist after it finishes rising, but not so much so that it's hard to handle. It also has a very nice texture. Originally served as part of: Sausage Pizza.
Ingredients
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 cup water (warmed in microwave (approximately 110 degrees F))
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin, plus more for greasing bowl olive oil
- 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (divided)
- 1 tablespoon cornmeal
- kosher salt
Instructions
We begin making our dough by combining the water and the yeast in a measuring cup. After about 5 minutes, when the mixture is bubbling and foamy, we add the yeast mixture, salt, olive oil and 2 1/2 cups of the flour to the mixing bowl of our Kitchen Aid. Using the bread hook we mix on low for a minute.
We knead the dough with our machine, on speed 2, adding additional flour as necessary. The dough should be slightly sticky, but should be able to pull off of your hands. We add a little over 3 cups of flour, a little at a time, and this takes about 7 minutes. We want the dough to be smooth and elastic.
We then place the dough into a well greased bowl and turn the dough in the oil. We cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1 hour in our microwave to be draft-free. We want the dough to be doubled in size.
As soon as the dough is set aside to rise, we pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees to get our pizza stone nice and hot.
When the dough is ready, we remove the dough from the bowl and punch it down. We separate the dough into two balls. Each ball is spread into a flat circle on a pizza peel that is covered with half the cornmeal and a sprinkling of salt. Prior to putting the toppings on the dough, we give the peel a good shake to make sure that the dough will slide off when we put it into the oven.
The pizzas are cooked on the pizza stone for about 15-20 minutes (until the cheese is bubbling and the bottom of the crust is browned).
Ingredients
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 cup water (warmed to about 110°F)
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (plus more for the bowl)
- 2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (plus up to 1 cup more)
- 1 tbsp cornmeal
- kosher salt
Instructions
What's a kid job?
A Kid job is a step kids can help with, with a grown-up nearby, not one they do on their own. Every kid is different, so go by what your child can do rather than by age. Roughly:
- Little ones (about 2 to 4) can stir, pour in ingredients a grown-up has measured, tear lettuce, wash vegetables and sprinkle toppings.
- Older kids (about 5 to 8) can also measure and level, crack eggs, whisk, roll and cut out dough, and put things together.
- Bigger kids can read the recipe aloud, keep track of the timer, and take on more of the cooking as they're ready.
Steps with a knife, microplane, skewers, stove, oven, grill or hot oil, or with raw meat, poultry or seafood, are marked Grown-up. Kids can still watch those, from a safe distance.
Stir the yeast into the water in a measuring cup and let it sit about 5 minutes, until foamy.
Put the yeast, salt, oil and 2½ cups of flour in a stand mixer bowl and mix with the dough hook on low 1 minute. Knead on speed 2 about 7 minutes, adding flour a little at a time (a little over 3 cups in all), until smooth, elastic, and a little sticky.
Kid job
Turn the dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise about 1 hour in the (turned-off) microwave, until doubled.
Grown-up
As soon as the dough is rising, heat the oven to 450°F with the pizza stone in it.
Kid job
Punch the dough down and divide it in two. Spread each into a flat circle on a peel dusted with half the cornmeal and some salt, and shake the peel to be sure it slides. Add your toppings.
Grown-up
Bake on the stone 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese bubbles and the bottom is browned.