Classic Homemade Pizza Crust

Pizza is full of endless possibilities.  Deep dish, thin crust, personal sized, cauliflower, garlic and herb, and the list goes on…and that’s all before you get into toppings!  Eventually, I’ll expand the pizza crust recipes, but I figured I’d start with a classic one…relatively unadorned…that can be used as a vessel for almost any choice of toppings you could imagine.

Time: 2 Hours (a good portion of that is the rise)

Ingredients: (To make 1 large crust..actual diameter depends on your desired thickness)

• 2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
• 3/4 Cup of Warm Water
• 2 Teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 Teaspoon of Salt (I like kosher or sea)
• 1 Teaspoon of Sugar

Method:

• Pour your water into your stand mixer bowl (or a regular bowl if you’re planning to do this without mechanical assistance), and add your yeast and sugar.
• Let sit for a few minutes until a little bit of foam forms at the top
• Mix your salt in with your flour, and combine that with your water using your dough hook attachment for about 8-10 minutes to develop the gluten (or knead by hand if you’re brave)
• When the dough is slightly tacky but not sticking to the stand mixer bowl, move it to a large (lightly spray oiled) bowl to rise, and cover with plastic wrap.
• Let sit for an hour or so (my pictures reflect about 2 hours of rising since I started the dough before going to Yoga…see…you can still be active and make this!), and then pour it onto a well floured surface
• Put your pizza stone or pan into the oven, and preheat your to 425 degrees F (you thought I only knew about 350, didn’t you?)
• Knead a bit more, and either using a tossing method (which I am no good at, so don’t look to me for help on that), via sort of “hand stretching” it to the right shape, or a rolling pin, work the dough into your desired shape and thickness
• When the dough is ready, pull the stone/pan out of the oven, and sprinkle a little cornmeal down (to prevent any chance of sticking later)
• Place the dough on the stone, and apply your toppings. The closer to the edge you get, the less the crust edge will rise, so use that to adjust your crust to your preferences.
• When the dough reaches desired crispiness (about 20 minutes), pull out!
• Plate, Devour, and Enjoy (or wait for later)