Homemade Pizza Dough

On Sunday, KK went into the city for brunch with some of his college buddies at The Smith at Lincoln Center.  Meanwhile, I went to Xtend Barre Stick class using a Groupon deal.  Afterwards, I took advantage of KK's absence and got some birthday shopping done for him! There may or may not have also been an impromptu dress purchase (in black) for myself from Target.  I swear - I cannot go into that store without spending at least $50.  How does that always happen!?

KK and I spent the rest of Sunday afternoon and evening making pizza crust.  It took a long time, but I promise you the homemade crust was well worth it! It came out thinner and crispier than a standard Boboli crust.  I can confirm that drizzling olive oil on the pizza pan does add nice flavor to the crust! With our homemade crust, KK and I recreated my first blog post: Corn, Pesto, and Tomato Pizza.  I also used this as an opportunity to update the original picture because my iPhone-photo-taking skills have improved a good deal over the last six months.

Homemade Pizza Dough
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Time: 4 hours
Yield: 1 standard round pizza
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients
1 tsp active dry yeast
Pinch of sugar
1 Tbsp + ½ cup lukewarm water
1 Tbsp olive oil + more for drizzling
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour + more for dusting
Heaping ½ tsp salt
Vegetable oil, for greasing
Cooking spray

Directions
1. Dissolve active dry yeast with a pinch of sugar and 1 tablespoon of lukewarm water.  Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, until the mixture has bubbled and expanded.

2. Combine dissolved yeast, ½ cup water, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 ½ cups flour, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Using the dough hook, mix on the second speed until the dough forms a ball and is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes.  Make sure not to over-knead the dough; it should hold together, but can still look fairly rough on the surface.

3. Lightly grease a large bowl with vegetable oil.  Place dough ball in bowl, cover with a towel, and allow to rise for 90 minutes until puffy.  If dough doesn’t look very puffy, allow to rise for additional time.

4. On a lightly floured surface, shape it into a rough circle – do not pat dough, simply stretch it lightly into shape.  Cover dough with an overturned bowl or lightly greased plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes.

5. Spray pizza pan with cooking spray, and drizzle olive oil onto the bottom of the pan.  The pan spray keeps the pizza from sticking; the olive oil gives the crust flavor and crunch.

6. Place the dough in the prepared pan.  Press dough over the bottom of the pan, stretching it towards the edges, reaching about two-thirds of the way there before the dough starts shrinking back.  Cover pan with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes.

7. Return to the dough and pat dough closer to the edges of the pan.  If dough still does not reach edges, rest for another 15 minutes and stretch the dough one more time.

8.  Once the dough reaches the edges, cover with a towel, and allow to rise again, this time for 90 minutes.  Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

9. Bake pizza on the lower rack of the oven until it sets on the top and just begins to brown on the edges, about 8 minutes for thinner crust pizza.  If you've doubled the recipe, reverse the pans halfway through (bottom to top, and top to bottom).

10. Cover crust with sauce and arrange toppings of choice on top.  Return pan to the oven, and bake on the upper oven rack for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.  Pizza is done when the crust is lightly browned, and the cheese is melted.  Midway through the cooking time, move pizza to the bottom rack if the top is browning too much.