Homemade Pizza Dough

This recipe is adapted straight from Bon Appetit and makes dough for 1 large pizza. I use it when making pan pizzas because it would be a little too much dough for my smaller, round pizza stone. The result is a thick, crispy crust.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 1/4 c. olive oil, plus 3 tbsp.
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 4 c. flour, divided, plus more for kneading

PREPARATION:

Combine the yeast and 1 1/2 cups warm water in a large bowl. Make sure the water is not hotter than 110 degrees or the heat will kill the yeast. Yeast is a living thing, which is very weird if you think about it too much. Let that stand in the bowl about 10 minutes. The yeast should start to foam.

Stir in 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Mix in the rest of the flour, 1 cup at a time, until the mixture pulls away from the bowl and a dough starts to form.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes, or until it’s smooth and stretchy. Lightly oil another bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil. Place the dough in it, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 24 hours.

When ready to make a pizza, coat a large rimmed baking pan with 1/4 cup oil. The BA recipe originally called for 1/2 cup, but I found that to be way too much oil so I cut back on it.

Place the dough in the pan and gently stretch it out, being careful not to tear it. Stretch until it reaches the sides of the pan, then push the edges of the dough up onto the sides of the pan with your fingers to form a crust. The dough will probably be extremely elastic at first, so you’ll have to let it rest for a few minutes (and maybe a few different times), until it stops springing back.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for 40 minutes, long enough for the yeast to make it rise, then use to make a Pan Pizza with Soppressata.