Pizza Dough: Simple, Fast, Delicious!

This is the recipe that we include in our Pizza Kit.  It's great for novice bakers, including kids -- or for anyone who wants great pizza fast!

Yield: Makes one large or 2 to 3 smaller pizzas 
Prep time: You can make this pizza in about 30 minutes. If you have more time, you can let the dough rise one or more times for additional airiness and flavor. You may also put it in the fridge for up to a week for even more flavor!

Ingredients

• 375g (3 cups) Italian Style Pizza Flour (plus extra)
• 250ml (1 cup) warm water
• 1 Tb olive oil
• 6g instant dry yeast
• 10g sugar (optional)
• 6g salt

Equipment

Medium mixing bowl

Large mixing bowl

Pizza pan, baking sheet, or cast iron skillet 

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 475°F.
• Mix flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl. 
• Combine water, yeast, and sugar (if using) in a large mixing bowl and let sit for 5 minutes until it is foamy and bubbly.  
• Add the olive oil and the flour-salt mixture to the large bowl with the water-yeast mixture, and stir with a spatula until dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Add additional flour if needed, one tablespoon at a time.
• Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let dough rise for 30 minutes if you have time. If not, simply roll the dough out ¼” to ½” thick. on a well-floured surface. Form it into one or more rough circles to make your pizza(s).
• Pierce the dough with a fork multiple times, add your toppings, and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bottom and edges of the crust are a rich golden brown. Check your pizza often so it doesn’t get too brown.

 BAKER’S NOTES

• As with all bread recipes, this pizza recipe will turn out best if you weigh your ingredients. Janie's Mill artisanal stone-ground flours are not standardized the way industrial roller milled flours are, and defy being measured with cups. Investing in a kitchen scale will make all your baking projects easier and you will have fewer dishes to clean!
• If you are in a hurry, adding sugar to the water-yeast mixture will feed the yeast, speed up the activation process, and will get you to your pizza faster. You can omit this step if you are not in a big rush.
• Instead of rolling out the dough, you may stretch it out by hand into the size and shape of the pizza you want.
• For added flavor, you can make this dough the day before and let it rise in the refrigerator overnight.
• You may also double the recipe, so you can make one batch of pizzas today, and another tomorrow.  Or you may freeze the extra dough and let it thaw in the refrigerator a day before you want to use it.