Recipe - Homemade Pizza

This recipe assumes you have a ~15" diameter pizza pan or stone, though you can also use a rectangular pan for a rectangular pizza. Thickness varies depending on how thin the dough is spread on the pan, so you may need to make more dough for a thicker crust. Feel free to double this recipe and make two pizzas to take advantage of economies of scale.

Yield: One 15" Pizza

Crust Ingredients

• 1-2 tbsp. active dry yeast
• 1.5-2 tsp. sugar (you may substitute with honey or barley malt syrup. Barley malt syrup will take your pizza to the next level, but regular sugar works too)
• 1 cup warm water
• 3-4 cups bread flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 5 tbsp. olive oil

Toppings

• Gather toppings of your choice prior to starting the next section.
• You will chop/slice/prepare the toppings later while your dough rises.

Crust Prep

1. Add yeast and sugar to warm water. Water should be between 100°F and 120°F. A thermometer is not necessary, you can use the following general rule: The water should feel warm, but not so hot that putting your finger in it would be painful. Yeast needs warmth to activate but if the water is too hot, the yeast will die.
2. Separately in a bowl, add 2.5 - 3 cups of bread flour, salt, and 3 tbsp. olive oil. Put the remaining bread flour and olive oil off to the side for later.
3. The yeast should be giving off a mild, pleasant bready aroma. You can wait a few minutes and proof the yeast but this is not necessary.
4. Pour the water, yeast, and sugar solution into the bowl containing flour and salt. Mix thoroughly, slowly adding warm water if the mixture is too dry or flour (from your reserve pile) if the mixture is too wet. Do not add too much extra water or flour too quickly. Be patient, mix the ingredients, and allow for the water to permeate throughout before adding more.
5. Once the mixture has turned into a ball of dough, knead it (by pressing, folding, and rotating repeatedly) for 3-5 minutes to ensure an even distribution of ingredients within the dough.
6. Use some of the remaining olive oil to spread a thin layer of oil over the dough. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover the bowl.
7. Let the dough sit for at least 20 minutes to let it rise, ideally 40-60 minutes. Alternatively, you can also age the dough, but if this is your first time making pizza and you want to eat it today, just do a simple rise. During this time waiting for the dough to rise, chop, slice, or otherwise prepare your toppings and clean your kitchen/work area.
8. Preheat oven to 475°F (~246°C).
9. Your dough should have risen and expanded. To test the dough, press into the center of it with a clean utensil or finger. The indentation should not spring back immediately and you may see or feel the dough deflate somewhat. Knead the dough back down, releasing all air inside.
10. On a flat, clean work area, flatten and shape the dough into a 12" circle (or shape of your pan). Use some reserve flour the dough to prevent creating a sticky mess. A rolling pin will help get the dough evenly spread but the finishing touches will require stretching and shaping by hand.
11. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled pan. If using a pizza stone, do not oil the stone - follow the pizza stone's instructions.
12. Distribute toppings evenly onto the dough.

Baking

1. Bake 20 minutes +/- a few minutes depending on your oven. If baking multiple pizzas in a single oven, swap their positions (bottom rack to top rack and vice versa) halfway through baking to ensure they bake evenly.
2. A golden-brown crust on top is ideal, but it's more important that the bottom does not burn.
3. After taking the pizza out of the oven, use a spatula to make sure the bottom doesn't stick to the pan.
4. Let cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.