Buttery Pizza Dough

By pjones-2

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 14 ounces (about 3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt (1 1/2 if using unsalted butter)
• 2 teaspoons dry yeast
• 1 cup water at 100°
• 3 Tablespoons of flour for bench work
• Makes 24 ounces of dough, enough for 2 or 3 pizzas.
• Allow at least 2 hours for rising

Preparation

Step 1

Mix the dough: In a large bowl mix the butter, sugar, 3 cups of flour, the salt and yeast. Mix in the warm water, a little at a time, using the handle of a wooden spoon. Gather the dry mix into the center and scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary until you have one mass of dough.


Now that's what I call clean kneading!
Knead the dough: Turn the dough ball out onto a lightly floured surface and knead vigorously for a few minutes. Once the flour is absorbed, you will be able to work the dough directly on the counter top. Knead for a total of 7 minutes.

1st Rise: Put the dough ball back into the bowl, cover with plastic and let rise for 2 hours at room temperature. After this, you could make pizzas, but you will have better results with a second rise.

2nd Rise: Knead the air out of the dough for a minute or so, put the dough back into the bowl and let rise, covered for another 2 hours.

Rest (optional): As with many pizza doughs, you can at this point let it rest for up to 6 hours in a cool place, or overnight in the refrigerator, until you’re ready to use it. Let return to room temperature before shaping and baking.

Make pizza and bake: Divide the dough into 2 or 3 pieces, spread out to pizza size on a cookie sheet (or use a peel as I do). Top with your favorite pizza toppings and bake for 8-10 minutes in a hot oven.

To make Garlicky Bread Sticks: Spread 12 ounces of dough out into an 8”x12” rectangle, slice into 10 strips and dot with olive oil, garlic and parmesan cheese. Let rise for 15 minutes and then bake at 425° for 10 minutes, until golden brown.