How the Experts Make Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 3 cups “00” pizza flour, more if necessary
• 5 tsp salt
• 1 pinch of sugar
• 1½ tsp (one 8 g package) yeast
• 4½ tsp olive oil
• 1½ cups warm water, more if necessary

Instructions

1. Set oven to 400F.
2. Add all dry ingredients to a bowl and blend.
3. Add oil. Add water.
4. Mix with a wooden spoon or pastry hand tool until well blended and smooth. If the dough sticks to your hands, add a little flour. If dry, add a little water.
5. Knead on a floured surface until smooth.
6. Divide into 4 equal balls. Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour to rise.
7. When you're ready to make pizza, roll out dough balls one at a time with a rolling pin. Gently stretch the dough by hand to create a thin crust.
8. Place on greased cookie sheet, or wooden pizza paddle if using a pizza stone.
9. Add toppings and bake for 10 to 15 minutes (oven temperatures may vary, so keep an eye on it).
10. Check and remove from oven when toppings are bubbling and crusts are lightly browned.

Notes

Makes about 2¼ lbs of dough, enough for 4 small pizzas