Pizza/Calzone Dough

Pizza/Calzone Dough
Source: The Kitchen

1-1/2 cups warm water
2 tsp. active dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp. salt

1. Combine the water and yeast in mixing bowl, and stir to dissolve the yeast. Let sit for 2-3 minutes. The mixture should be light brown and milky.
2. Add in salt and flour. Using a stand mixer, mix the dough for about 5 minutes. The dough should be tacky but not stick to you like gum. If it does, then add a pinch of flour at a time until it no longer sticks to you and is just tacky to the touch.
3. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Let dough rise for about an hour and a half. It will double in size.
4. Divide dough. You can make two pizzas with this batch.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
6. Stretch dough out to approximately a 10-inch round pizza on a pan. If dough starts to shrink back, let it rest about 5 minutes and then try again. Brush the edge of the crust with EVOO. Top with sauce, cheese and toppings. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until the crust starts to brown and then slide off of pan and bake and additional 3 minutes to crisp up the bottom of the pizza.
7. Remove from oven and eat once cool enough to enjoy.

Makes 2 (10-inch) pizzas.

*****

This recipe was orignally supposed to be for two thin crust pizzas. I had doubled the recipe - to the above amounts - and made two regular pizzas. The crust was perfect. Not too thick, and not too thin.

This pizza crust was declared a winner. My husband and myself both enjoyed this pizza crust much more than the previous recipe we have been using. It does require more planning since you need to let the dough rise and possibly rest, but it's definitely worth it. You can refrigerate this dough for up to three days before using (after letting it rise), and you can also freeze the dough. I prefer to make the pizzas and then freeze them before baking, if I'm going to freeze something pizza related.

Here are the two pizzas that I made last night: Turkey pepperoni and a buffalo chicken pizza. Yummy!!!