Easy Pizza Dough in 2 hours

Pizza Dough Recipe

Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes (including rising).

Will make enough dough for 4 pizzas, of which we will just make one below.  The remaining dough can be frozen until your next pizza craving demands satisfaction.

• 4 cups of flour (recommend unbleached all-purpose)
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups lukewarm water
• Semolina or regular flour for dusting

Combine all the ingredients except the watter  in a bowl. Stir in the water slowly with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to take shape. It should be wet but not overly so, and the exact amount of water may vary depending on your flour. On a flat surface, sprinkle plenty of flour and start kneading the dough. If it starts sticking, add more flour, but be careful not to make the dough too dry. Now the hard part.  You need to knead for at least 10 minutes. Seriously. Don’t give up after 5 because it looks OK… 10 minutes on a timer, constantly kneading. When you’re done, and have given your aching muscles some time to recover, place the dough in a bowl that has been sprayed or rubbed with olive oil. Make sure the dough is also covered with oil. Cover, and let the dough rest for 1 hour at room temperature.

While the dough is rising, place the baking stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 400F.

TIP: If you have trouble getting it to rise, and you are sure that the yeast has not gone bad, it is likely that your kitchen temperature is too cold to facilitate rising.  A little trick that works for me is to heat the oven to about 80 degrees Farenheit, turn off the heat, and then place the dough in the warmed oven to rise.  Don’t forget to TURN OFF THE OVEN.

Example of pizza’s made with this recipe:

1. Smoked Salmon Pizza – The Way My Mother Never Made It
2. Ham And Tomato Pizza With Italian Salsa Verde Sauce
3. Half-Moon Vegetable Pizza with Green Peppers, Grape Tomatoes and Onion
4. Blue Cheese, Parmesan, Salami and Onion Pizza