Delicious Pizza Dough

Delicious Pizza Dough  

 Ingredients

2 cups warm water  (the temperature should feel comfortable when touching the inside of your wrist)

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 cups flour – depending on the weather maybe a little more a less

Directions

In a stand mixer add the water, honey and yeast. Stir and let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. The yeast should foam up a little. It means the yeast is “working” and doing its thing. This is exactly what you are looking for.  Add the oil and half of the flour. Mix for a few minutes. Then add the salt and the remaining flour ½ cup at a time. The pizza dough should feel a little bit tacky but when touched it shouldn’t stick to your fingers. Knead on medium speed for 10 minutes. If you would like to freeze some or even all of the dough you should divide the dough into the desired amount of portions and freeze at this point. I usually use freezer bags that I sprayed a little with non-stick cooking spray. If you would like to go ahead now to make pizza move the dough to another bowl that has been grease with a little bit of olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for about an hour or until doubled in size. When the dough has doubled in size divide into the desired amount of portions.  Preheat your oven at 450 degrees with a pizza stone it. While the oven and stone are preheating stretch the pizza dough into a circle on parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray and dusted with yellow corn meal. The parchment paper makes the entire process much easier. Once the dough has been shaped and the toppings have been added cut the parchment paper so it is about 1/2 – 1 inch bigger than then dough. Transfer to the pizza stone that has been preheating in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy !