Homemade Pizza

Put the warm water in the large bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer. Sprinkle on the yeast & let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir to dissolve completely if needed.

Attach a mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt & sugar on low speed for about a minute. Replace the mixing paddle with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer & dough hook, on low-medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don’t have a mixer, you can mix & knead by hand

Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Or you can heat the oven to 150 degrees, & then turn off the oven. Place the bowl of dough in this warmed oven to rise.

You can freeze the dough in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Place a pizza stone on a lower rack in your oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Remove the plastic cover from the dough & punch the dough down to deflate it a bit. Divide the dough in half. Form two balls of dough. Place each in its own bowl, cover with plastic & let sit for 10 minutes.

Prepare your toppings. You don’t want to load up the pizzas with lots of toppings as the crust won’t be crisp. About 1/3 cup each of tomato sauce and cheese would be enough for 1 pizza. 1-2 mushrooms will cover a pizza.

Take 1 ball of dough & flatten it with your hands on a slightly floured work surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn & stretch the dough until it won’t stretch further. Let the dough relax 5 minutes & then continue to stretch it until it reaches 10 to 12 inches. Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker. Pinch the edges if you want a lip.

Brush the top of the dough with olive oil. Use your finger tips to make dents along the surface of the dough. Let sit another 5 minutes. Repeat with the second ball of dough.

Lightly sprinkle your pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) with corn meal. Transfer one prepared dough to the pizza peel. If the dough has lost its shape, shape it to 10-12 in. Spoon on the tomato sauce, sprinkle the cheese, & put your toppings on the pizza.

Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking stone in the oven. Gently shake the peel to see if the dough will easily slide. If not, gently lift up the edges of the pizza & add a bit more cornmeal. Slide the pizza off of the peel & on to the baking stone in the oven. Bake pizza one at a time until the crust is browned & the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes.