All-Purpose Pizza Dough

This all-purpose dough complements both traditional and modern pizzas.

Ingredients

1. 1 Tbs. active dry yeast
2. 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. lukewarm water
3. 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/2 cup for
4. working
5. 1 tsp. salt
6. 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and let stand until slightly foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the 2 3/4 cups flour and the salt and form into a mound. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture to the well. Using a fork and stirring in a circular motion, gradually pull the flour into the yeast mixture. Continue stirring until a dough forms.
3. Lightly flour a work surface with some of the 1/2 cup flour and transfer the dough to it. Using the heel of your hand, knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.
4. Brush a large bowl with the olive oil and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
5. Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with the remaining flour. Punch down the dough and, using your hand, begin to press it out gently into the desired shape. Then, place one hand in the center of the dough and, with the other hand, pull, lift and stretch the dough, gradually working your way all around the edge, until it is the desired thickness, about 1/4 inch thick for a crusty pizza base and 1/2 inch thick for a softer one. Flip the dough over from time to time as your work with it. (Or roll out the dough with a rolling pin.) The dough should be slightly thinner in the middle than at the edge. Lift the edge of the pizza to form a slight rim.
6. Transfer the dough to a baker's peel or baking sheet, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise again until almost doubled in size, about 20 minutes. Top and bake as directed in your pizza recipe. Makes 1 1/4 lb. dough, enough for a 12-inch thin-crust pizza or a 9-inch thick-crust pizza.

Notes

As the simple steps below demonstrate, pizza dough takes more time than effort to make. Even when time is lacking, it's still easy to prepare homemade pizza. Mix up a double batch of dough in advance, tightly enclose balls of the dough in plastic wrap and freeze them. Then defrost at room temperature for several hours or all day in the refrigerator.Proofing the yeast. In a small mixing bowl, stir together dry yeast and lukewarm water until the yeast granules dissolve. Let stand at room temperature until the yeast foams slightly and looks creamy, about 10 minutes.Mixing dough in a food processor. If making dough with a food processor, fit with the metal blade and add the flour and any other dry ingredients to the work bowl. With the machine running, slowly pour the yeast mixture through the feed tube and continue processing just until the mixture forms a ball of dough that rides around on the blade.Mixing dough by hand. If making the dough by hand, combine the flour and any other dry ingredients and heap in a mound on a work surface, or put in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, add the yeast mixture and stir with a fork in a circular motion, gradually incorporating the water until the dough forms.Kneading the dough. If the dough was mixed by hand, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly with the heel of your hand—pushing the dough forward and turning it slightly, then folding it back over and repeating—until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If the dough was mixed in a processor, knead for only 1 to 2 minutes.Letting the dough rise. Lightly brush a large bowl with olive oil. Gather the dough into a ball, place it in the bowl and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature to rise until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.Punching down and shaping the dough. Before shaping the pizza, transfer the risen dough to a lightly floured work surface and, using the heel of your hand, gently punch it down to deflate it slightly. Then shape the dough, and top and bake as directed in the pizza recipe.