Pizza Dough
My friend Lori gave me this homemade pizza dough recipe 15 years ago and I still make it all the time. I sprinkle MySpicer black pepper over the sauce before I add the cheese and it gives my pizza a little extra kick and flavor. It’s a family favorite!
Makes one large and one small crust, or three small crusts
Ingredients
2 pkgs. dry yeast
2 c. warm (~90 degrees) water
1 T. sugar
~5 c. white (all-purpose) flour, plus a little extra for kneading
Cornmeal
Black Pepper
Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Toppings
Directions
- Proof yeast: put yeast in a large bowl and add warm water and sugar. Mix to dissolve. Let it sit for 5-6 minutes. It should get foamy on the top. If it doesn’t, throw it out and check the expiration on your yeast. Also, if the water’s too hot it will kill the yeast. (Note: the hot water that comes out of your hot water spigot it too hot for yeast. It should be slightly warmer than lukewarm to the touch.)
- Add 2 c. flour to water/yeast mixture and stir well. Add another 2 c. flour and stir well again. Keep adding flour until the dough is too thick to stir in the bowl. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for 6 -7 minutes. Gather it into a ball and pinch the seams together on the bottom of the ball.
- Grease a large bowl with olive oil. Put the dough ball in smooth side down, then flip it over so the smooth side is greased and face up. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel.
- Turn the oven on (any temp) for 60 seconds, then turn it off. Put the bowl of dough in and let it rise for 45-60 minutes (shorter for quick-rise yeast).
- Take the dough out of the oven and punch it down. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it a few times. Divide it up into balls according to how many pizzas you want to make and pinch the seams of each ball together. Let the dough rest smooth side up on the counter (covered with a towel) for about 10 minutes.
- Grease pans with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place dough on pans and push the dough evenly to the edges of the pan. You can push a little extra out to the edge if you like a thick crusty end to your pizza.
- Preheat oven to 425 and bake each crust separately for about 8-10 minutes or until it begins to brown on the edge. After you’ve pre-baked the crust, add sauce. Sprinkle Pepper on the Sauce before you add cheese and toppings and bake at 425 for about 10-15 minutes.
