Homemade Basic Pizza Dough
By: Liam Gibbons
Published: Sunday, March 4, 2012 - 5:57am

Ingredients




1/2 cup Warm Water
2 + 1/4 tsp Instant Yeast
4 cups Bread Flour
2 tsp Salt
1 + 1/4 cup Room Temperature Water
2 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Preparation

1 I'm going to keep this simple because I know how you guys are easily confused. 2 Add the yeast to the warm water and give it a quick stir. Leave to sit. 3 Measure the flour into a bowl with the salt. Give it a quick mix. 4 Add the room temperature water to the yeast + water. Now add the olive oil. Give it another quick stir, then add all of it to the flour. Mix until a dough forms. 5 Flour the countertop and pour the dough out onto it. You now need to knead the dough for about 5 mins. If it's not tiring, you're not doing it right. You need to stretch that gluten so that you have some delicious pizza dough. 6 Oil the inside of a large bowl and place the pizza dough in it. Turn it around a couple of times to ensure it's coated in oil. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and place it in a warm corner of the kitchen. Allow to rise for 2 hours. 7 2 hours later, poke the dough and giggle whilst you watch it deflate. Pour onto a floured surface and split it up. I usually get about 5-7 balls of dough out of this recipe. However, I make very thin crispy pizza, so if you want a large, doughy, deep pan pizza, I suggest making 3 balls out of this recipe. 8 Shape the dough out either with your hands or a rolling pin. Brush the crusts with oil. Spread some sauce on it, sprinkle with cheese, top with your desired toppings and bake for 15-20 mins. Again, I like crispy pizza, if you like yours more doughy then check it from around 10-15 mins. 9 I 10 You can also freeze this dough. Roll out a sheet of clingfilm and lightly mist it with oil. Place the dough on it and wrap it up nice and tight. Place in freezer immediately. Otherwise it will continue to rise. 11 You can also defrost this dough in a microwave for a quick dinner. I can hear you gourmet chefs out there gasping and muttering under your breath. But it works, and if it works, don't fix it. Or something like that. 12 Place the frozen dough in the microwave and microwave for 1-2 mins @ defrost setting. Depending on your microwave it might need a few mins longer. The dough should be soft but still cold. Becareful not too over-microwave it or you'll cook the dough and it will be useless.

About

Don't get me wrong. I love Domino's, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns..
Oh Papa Johns.. It's been so long since we've had the opportunity to be together.
Me: "What kind of pizza do you want?"
Mhairi: "I want delicious meats. Get the one with ALL THE MEATS!"
(Gibbons & Meston, 2011)