I’ve been making pizza dough with my father since I was a little girl.  He was taught by his mother, my Grandma. Over time, I’ve changed just a couple of things and made the process speedier so that I don’t have to plan ahead as much.  With my process now, I can make dough in the late morning and have it ready to go for dinnertime. Pizza dough is so versatile.  I use it for some of my baked goods, such as my S’mores Knots.  You can also use it to make a quick Italian bread or fried dough zeppole .

When I was a little girl we always used our hands to make this; but since I’ve gotten a KitchenAid stand mixer – I skip that step and use my handy dough hook for a quick, mess free process.  Although using your hands is always a fun step when you want to have your kids cook with you.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Rise Time: 4 hours
Rest Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours

Yields: 2 pizza doughs

Ingredients

• 1-½ cups of warm water (approximately 100 degrees) – you can achieve this just using hot water from the tap
• 2-¼ teaspoons of yeast (standard package). I find that Dry Active and Instant both work perfectly fine with this process
• 1 tablespoon of sugar (this activates the yeast!)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 3-½ cups of all purpose flour

Directions

1. Add your warm water, yeast and sugar to the stand mixer bowl.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes until it’s all bubbly
2. Add olive oil, salt, pepper, and flour. 
3. Using dough hook, mix on medium low until a dough forms.
4. If it’s super sticky or dry – add a teaspoon of water or flour as needed.
5. Wipe the bowl with olive oil and brush the top of the dough with olive oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and then drape a kitchen towel on top.  Set aside to rise for approximately 4 hours. The kitchen towel makes a dark, warm space for the yeast to do its thing!
6. Before use, separate the dough into 2.  Form into a ball and let them rest for 30 minutes on a floured surface covered in a towel before using.

For a little “twist” on this dough – try our Rosemary and Garlic pizza dough