My " Go To" Pizza Dough

Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 5 mins

Ingredients

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 ounce fast rising yeast (i like fleischmann's rapid rise)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese, finely grated (not the green stuff, please)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• olive oil, as required
• cornmeal, as required

Recipe

• 1 in a large bowl, combine 4 cups of flour, undissolved yeast, sugar, cheese, and salt.
• 2 place water and oil in a microwavable container and nuke until temp is 110 to 120 degrees.
• 3 pour into flour mixture and mix with a spoon. add enough remaining flour to make a soft, slightly sticky dough while mixing with your hands.
• 4 knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic adding flour as required; about 3 to 5 minutes.
• 5 preheat oven to 500 degrees. if using a stone, place stone on lowest shelf so it will preheat.
• 6 place kneaded dough into a large bowl and lightly coat the dough with olive oil so the surface will not dry out. cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and place in a warm place. the top of the stove works well while the oven preheats.
• 7 allow dough to rise until doubled in size; about 30 to 40 minutes.
• 8 remove to a floured surface and knead for about 30 seconds.
• 9 shape dough into a ball and divide in half. return half to the bowl and cover.
• 10 roll second half into desired size and shape and place on a pizza peel or pizza pan.
• 11 if using a peel, lightly dust with cornmeal so the dough will easily slide from the peel to the stone. place dough onto peel.
• 12 if using a pan, lightly coat with oil and dust with cornmeal. place dough on pan and finish shaping dough to fit.
• 13 top pizza with desired ingredients and dip two fingers into olive oil. coat rim of crust with oil so it will brown nicely.
• 14 bake at 500 degrees for 10 to 20 minutes until toppings are bubbly and crust is browned.
• 15 cooking time will vary with thickness of dough and ingredients, so watch closely to avoid burning.
• 16 repeat with second dough ball for a second pizza, or wrap well and freeze for later use.