Recipe - Basic Pizza Dough

Note: Making your own pizzas is fun and easy, it only takes practice and patience. Use your favorite ready-to-use pizza sauce or Marinara Sauce recipe found on page 127. This recipe makes enough dough for two 12" Sicilian pizzas (1" thick) or six 8" ( about 1/3" thick) pizzas.

2 — 14" pizza stones
or 6 — 8" round pans
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
11/4 cups warm water
3 cups bread flour, or all-purpose, a little more if needed
11/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons cornmeal

1. Preheat oven to 475°F. Put yeast in warm water, and stir to dissolve, letting it foam up for 8 to 10 minutes. Mix the flour and salt together in large bowl. Add the yeast water a little at a time with small amounts of flour. Set to the side of bowl. Continue until all the water and flour have been used. Bring the flour together and form dough into a ball. Knead the dough 8 to 10 minutes, until soft and elastic. Pour 1 teaspoon olive oil over dough, turning to coat. Cover with towel and let rise 11/2 hours.
2. Punch dough down and let rest 15 minutes.
3. On floured counter, roll the dough portions a little at a time, letting the dough rest before proceeding. Pizza dough can be stretched a little at a time without leaving holes in the dough, if the dough can rest in intervals.
4. Place the pizza on the stone, and continue to roll or stretch until the circle is to the edge of the stone. Place cornmeal below the pizza dough and cover pizzas with your favorite toppings, being careful not to make the pizza too wet or too dry.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes, for one thick Sicilian pizza, or 15 to 18 minutes if cooking thinner pizzas. The pizza should be golden brown underneath and the cheeses melted on top.