Pizza Crust

From Pizzapaloosa
Recipe, photo, and video by Judy Doherty

Makes 3 (9-inch) pizza crusts

• 2 cups water, warmed to 90°F
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 4½ cups bread flour plus extra as needed for mixing and rolling
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon sugar (use agave syrup if making vegan)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Mix the water and yeast and let rest until yeast starts to bubble. Add remaining ingredients and mix by hand or with a mixer using the hook or paddle attachment. You want a moist ball of dough, so add more flour or more water as needed to get the right consistency. Mix the dough until you are able to make a smooth “gluten window,” which means the dough doesn’t break when stretched.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let rest for an hour or until the dough rises to double. (If desired, you can refrigerate dough to use the next day.)

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Set up 3 baking trays and lightly oil and dust each with cornmeal or line with parchment paper.

Sprinkle your work surface with flour and coat your hands with flour as well. Coax the dough out of the bowl onto the floured work surface and divide into 3 portions. Working with 1 portion at a time, roll dough into a ball and then pull or roll into a square or round shape about 9 inches across. Place each on a prepared baking tray and let sit for a few minutes so the dough can relax and rise. Bake pizza crusts for 12 minutes or until golden and then remove from the oven and set aside. The crusts are now ready to be topped and baked again to make pizzas, or they can be wrapped and stored without toppings in the fridge or freezer to be used at a later time.