Basic Pizza Dough

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH

Author: The Food Nanny

One 16-inch medium-crust pizza or two 12-inch-crust pizzas or four 9-inch thin-crust pizzas

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm (105-115 degrees)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour or half all-purpose and half whole wheat

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl, cover, and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Mix the oil, honey, salt , and yeast mixture in a large mixing bowl. If using a food processor, add 1 cup of flour at a time, up to 3 cups, mixing well after each addition. You may have to stir in the third cup of flour by hand depending on your machine. Or mix in all 3 cups of flour by hand with a wooden spoon.
3. If the dough seems too wet, mix in more flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough is soft. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead in more flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough is moderately stiff and somewhat firm to the touch, about 6 minutes.
4. Lightly grease pizza pan(s) or a cookie sheet (s) with oil. If you are making two or more thin-crust pizzas, divide the dough. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a floured surface. Gently stretch the dough to fill the pan(s).
5. Let the dough rise (it will not rise very much) while you make sauce and continue with the pizza recipe of your choice.
6. Note: I like this pizza crust best with half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat. I now keep my whole wheat flour in a canister right beside my all-purpose, so I can dip into and add whole wheat to almost any bread dough or pancake or waffle batter.