Pizza Dough

Pizza Dough

From Williams-Sonoma

Makes 2 12-14 inch pizza's

2 packages (5 teaspoons) active dry yeast
2 1/2 C warm water (105-115 F)
2 t malt syrup or sugar
1 /4 C olive oil
5 C flour
1 T sea salt
all purpose flour and semolina flour for rolling and shaping

BY HAND:
To make the crust, in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the malt syrup, oil, flour, and salt and stir with your hand or a wooden spoon until a rough ball forms. Using a plastic pastry scraper, scrape the dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead the dough until soft, smooth, and elastic, 8-10 minutes. Add up to 1 C flour to the work surface while kneading to prevent the dough from sticking.

BY STAND MIXER:
To make the crust, in the 5-qt bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the malt syrup, oil, flour, and salt. Place the bowl on the mixer, attach the dough book, and knead on low speed until soft, smooth, and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Add up to 1 C flour while kneading so the dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl. Remove the dough from the bowl.

Form the dough into a ball, transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, 1 1/2 - 2 hours. For a more flavorful crust, make the dough up to this point, punch it down, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Let the dough come to room temperature before shaping.

Place a pizza or baking stone on a rack in the lower of the oven, and preheat to 500F for at least 30 minutes before baking. Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly oiled work surface. Cut it in half with a sharp knife or a bench scraper. Gently shape each half into a loose ball. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes. Lightly dust 1 dough ball with all-purpose flour. Roll it out into a round 12-14 inches in diameter. Spread 1/4 C semolina flour on a baker's peel or on the top of an inverted half-sheet pan. Transfer the dough round to the peel or pan.

Top the dough with desired pizza sauce, cheese and toppings. Slide the pizza off the peel or pan onto the hot stone. Bake the pizza until the crust is crisp and brown, 10-15 minutes. Using the baker's peel or a wide metal spatula, carefully transfer the pizza to a cutting board. repeat with the remaining dough and topping ingredients. Serve the pizza hot, cut into wedges.