Pizza Dough

So to start this one, I'm just going to say that I have found my bread machine to be an invaluable tool in the kitchen.  I make all of my own bread products as a rule.  So, here's the star of this post:

Yeah, he's second hand and works fantastic.  I think I paid like, $8 for it after a discount.  These seem to be really easy to come by in thrift stores.  

Ok, so on to the pizza dough!  This is SO easy to make.  4 ingredients.  The push of a couple of buttons and leave it alone for an hour.  

What you'll need:

3 1/2c flour (I prefer all-purpose white for pizza)

1 tsp salt

1/2 HEAPING Tbsp of yeast (a measured 1/2 Tbsp isn't quite enough, but if you heap it, you'll be in good           

     shape).  

1 1/4 C lukewarm water

So, hard part: dump everything, in no particular order, into your bread machine.

Now push a couple of buttons.  If your bread machine has a "pizza dough" setting, awesome.  Use that.  If not, use a regular dough setting.  The biggest difference is rising time.  So if you have to use a standard "dough" setting, pull the dough out after a 30 minute rise.  Your dough will look similar to this when done.

Have two bowls/bags/whatever you have that's air tight ready and greased.

Divide dough in half and shape into balls.  Place one dough ball in each container. 

 Seal, freeze.  Take out the morning before or even the evening before you need the dough and put in fridge.

**Please note that dough WILL rise in fridge.  It retards the raising process, but it still means that the dough will need to be used in a time-sensitive manner.  If it sits too long, you'll end up with a sticky, over-proofed, flat mess for a pizza dough. **

Once dough is thawed, stretch/roll out the dough to about a 12" round.  It will raise some in the oven as well, so if it seems a little thin, don't worry about it.  I like to use a baking sheet that was sprayed with a little olive oil and dusted with corn meal.  Neither step is necessary, but I feel it gives the dough better texture and also assures me that it won't stick.  With both traditional and thin crust pizzas, be sure to poke a few holes in the center of the dough to prevent those pesky air pockets that cause bubbles.

If you want a thin crust, roll out larger.

If you want a pan crust stretch dough to fit into a baking dish (I've used a standard 9x13 pan most of the time).  Add 1/3c oil to the dish before putting in dough (yeah, that yummy "pan taste" takes a LOT of oil to create!).  Place dough, make pizza as desired.  

So there we have it.  A little effort and about 10 minutes of actual "work" and you can have your own pizza crusts.  Preservative free, organic if desired, and a LOT cheaper than those silly $5 Digiorno crusts!