Basic Pizza Dough

By moninikole

Ingredients

• 16-inch one 16-inch round thin-crust pizza
• 2 3/4 to 3 1/4 2 3/4 to 3 1/4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 tsp yeast
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 2 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 1 1 cup warm water
• non-stick cooking spray
• 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 8 8 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• any desired toppings

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425º. Spray a 16-inch round pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray or brush with olive oil and set aside. If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to preheat. Coat a glass or ceramic bowl with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil and set aside.

2. Add two cups of flour, yeast and salt to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse for 15 seconds to combine. Mix warm water and olive oil in a measuring cup. Pour liquid mixture into food processor using the feed tube and pulse just until dough comes together in a ball. If dough is still wet or sticky, add additional flour one tablespoon at a time and pulse again briefly to combine.

3. Sprinkle one-half cup of flour on a clean counter or large cutting board and knead dough. Continue kneading additional flour if necessary, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough holds a fingertip impression. If it immediately pops back into a ball, then you need to add more flour. Place dough into coated glass bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place in a warm, dry place and let rise until doubled in size, about one to one and half hours.

4. Once dough has doubled in size, gently press dough into a circle in the coated pizza pans, being careful not poke any holes in the dough. Bake plain crust for five minutes. (TIP: you can prepare pizza to this step and freeze the prebaked crusts. When you're ready to make just take the frozen crust out and begin at step 5.)

5. Remove from oven and divide tomato sauce and spread on top of each crust. Evenly sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over sauce and add desired toppings and return to oven. Cook for an additional 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is golden and bubbly. Let sit for a minute or two before cutting. Serve immediately.