Pizza Dough
This pizza dough needs only a handful of pantry ingredients and about half an hour of rising, which makes it a practical weeknight base. It is pressed out by hand rather than rolled, and the cornmeal under the dough gives the bottom a gritty, crisp finish. The method works especially well for thin crusts, and checking the underside with a knife lets you fix the shelf position mid-bake.
Instructions
Combine the water, yeast, flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. If the mixture is thin and runny like pancake batter, knead in a little more flour until the dough is sticky. If you can touch it without anything sticking to your finger, it is too dry, so knead in a little water.
Set the bowl in a pan of warm water or on top of a warm oven and let the dough rise for 20 to 30 minutes. It should grow by about half, but even a rise of 10 or 20 percent will still give a workable crust. Use a big bowl to leave room.
Grease a baking sheet with oil and sprinkle cornmeal over the oil. Press the dough out with your fingers until it is about ¼ inch thick, leaving the edges about ½ inch thick. Dust the top with flour so it does not stick to your hands.
Add your choice of pizza toppings over the dough.
Bake at 425°F for about 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheet every 5 minutes and moving it between upper and lower shelves as needed. After 10 minutes, slide a large knife under the crust to check the underside. If it is dark brown, move the pizza to a higher shelf. If it is white or light tan, move it lower so the base crisps before the cheese browns.
On a first attempt, make just one or two pizzas so you can adjust the next batch. If the middle is not cooked, the dough was probably too thick. If the bottom burned, lower the oven temperature next time, since some ovens run hotter than the thermostat says.
Make it personal.
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