Basic Pizza Dough

Everybody loves pizza.  What's awesome about pizza is the fact that you can make it a million different ways so it never gets boring.  Thin crust - pan crust; Red sauce - white or pesto sauce; Cheese purist - Load it up!  Let your imagination go wild!  For this pizza I did cubes of mozzarella from a block (leftover from Baked Sausage Ziti), red onions, green peppers, mushrooms (my half) and pepperoni (Chris' half) then a generous sprinkle of Pizza Seasoning.

I previously posted a recipe for Exquisite Pizza Sauce which is my base sauce recipe for a traditional pizza.  Now I'm going to share with you a tried and true Pizza Dough upon which you can use to make your pizza base.  The dough makes 2 large pizzas (takes up almost my whole pizza stone) and can be frozen so you always have some on hand.  I use my bread maker to make things easier but you can also use your mixer, food processor (this is something new I learned!) or do it the old-fashioned way by hand.

What I need to perfect is the ability to transfer the loaded pizza to the pre-heated pizza stone.  Any tips?  I think I need to use more corn meal on the bottom of the pizza next time so it slides off easier.  Or, maybe I should buy one of this pizza peel things.  This time I had to cook it on my pizza pan until it was solid enough to transfer to the pizza stone.  If you can, bake it on a pizza stone because it makes the crust MUCH more crispy!  It draws the moisture out of the pizza to provide a perfectly crunchy crust on the outside and chewy on the inside.

What are you favorite sauces and topping combinations?  Here's some that I have tried...

• Barbeque Chicken Pizza
• Cincinnati-Style Chili Pizza

Basic Pizza Dough
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Yields: 2 large pizzas

Ingredients

• ½ cup warm water (about 110°)
• 1 envelope (2 ¼ tsp.) instant yeast
• 1 ¼ cups water, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting (used all-purpose)
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• olive oil or non-stick cooking spray for greasing the bowl

Directions:

Using a bread machine:

1. Add the ingredients to your bread machine in the order that your manufacturer suggests.  Press the dough cycle and machine knead bread and allow to rise.
2. To bake, place a pizza stone in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 500° for at least 30 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form both pieces of dough into smooth, round balls and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes
3. Working with one piece of dough and keeping the other covered, shape the dough and transfer to a pizza peel or round of parchment dusted with semolina or cornmeal. Top as desired. Slide the dough onto the pizza stone. Bake until the crust edges brown and cheese is golden brown in spots, about 8 to 12 minutes. Repeat with remaining ball of dough or freeze for later use.

Using a stand mixer:

1. Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room temperature water and oil and stir to combine. 
2. Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Briefly combine the dry ingredients at low speed. Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix at low speed until a cohesive mass forms. Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Press the dough to deflate it.
3. To bake, place a pizza stone in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 500° for at least 30 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form both pieces of dough into smooth, round balls and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes
4. Working with one piece of dough and keeping the other covered, shape the dough and transfer to a pizza peel or round of parchment dusted with semolina or cornmeal. Top as desired. Slide the dough onto the pizza stone. Bake until the crust edges brown and cheese is golden brown in spots, about 8 to 12 minutes. Repeat with remaining ball of dough or freeze for later use.

Source: adapted by Annie's Eats, originally from Baking Illustrated by the Editors of Cook’s Illustrated Magazine