Pizza

Hi again! I’ve also been searching for the perfect pizza dough, which in my case means, thin and crunchy! And I think I’ve finally found it! I searched Foodgawker and Tastespotting for the perfect thin crust pizza and there it was — From Whence the Sweet Bird Sang’s Margherita-ville pizza. Now of course, I changed and added the ingredients for the pizza topping based on what I had in stock. The pasta sauce that I made in advance comes from here, which is amazing by the way. So I’ll just post here the recipe for the dough and it’s up to you what you want to top it off with. Happy pizza dough making!

PIZZA DOUGH (taken from From Whence the Sweet Bird Sang)
Makes two twelve inch rounds

1 pkg. (2 1/4 tsp.) dry active yeast
3/4 cup warm water (110 F)
1/4 cup cool water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch sea salt

1. In a mixing bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add the cool water, oil, and salt.

2. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, blending until smooth after each addition. Dust clean surface with at least 1/2 cup flour and knead dough 5-10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.

3. Coat a bowl with oil, place the dough ball inside and roll to coat in oil. Cover bowl with saran wrap and then a towel and set in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Heat oven to 500 F, place stoneware baking sheet or pizza stone in oven to preheat, at least 30 minutes.

4. Punch down dough and divide into two balls. Let rest 10 minutes. Pat out dough balls on a floured surface to twelve inches round. Let rest 15 minutes. Pat down, and top with sauce and toppings.

5. Place pizza directly on pizza stone, it should be hot enough to sizzle immediately upon contact. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is dark brown in spots.