[quote name='JimmieMac']No no no no no no no no no no.
You can't add the salt and the sugar to the yeast at the same time. You'll kill some of the yeast.
1 1/2 cups warm water , no hotter than 120 or you'll kill the yeast. 3 Heavy pinches of sugar, a package and a half of active dry yeast, 4 1/2 cups AP flour, 4 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 heavy pinches of salt.
Add the yeast to the bowl, pour the water on it and add the sugar. Let it sit till it foams. 15 minutes or so. Add in the flour, then the oil then the salt. Do all this is the mixing bowl. Mix it on the middle setting for 15 minutes. Turn the machine off and put it out into another bowl, glass if you got it. Make sure you pour oil into the bowl and rub it down so it doesn't stick as it rises. Leave it covered with some plastic wrap for about an hour.
You'll want to pull off 5 oz chunks and ball it up. Pull it tight all around. Think of it like the ball is a little head and your pulling the hair off the top of the head, pulling it down the sides and sticking it up under the throat. Dont do it like your forming meatballs. You want to be pulling it and making a tight skin on the top of the ball.
Let it sit for 10 mins, flour out your counter and roll it out with a pin. Don't push too hard. Lightly roll it. From the middle pretend it's a clock and go from 6 to 12 then turn it 15 mins, 6 to 12, turn 15 mins, and so on till it's the the size of a plate.
Don't push too hard and don't push hard on the edges, this will crimp the edges and keep the dough from rising on the rim.
Then when that's done put the pizza on a piece of cardboard or the bottom of an inverted cookie sheet. Don't over do the sauce, it's a common mistake, you're looking at about an ounce to and ounce and a half of sauce. Too much and you'll have a soggy wet pie and that's not good for anybody.
If you're adding vegetables, cook them off a bit ahead of time so they give up some of their water, again, this keeps the pie from getting water logged.
Even if you don't have a traditional red sauce I'm sure you got something in your fridge you can use like BBQ sauce or some sort of marinade.
The whole time you're making it think to yourself, "If I bought this at a shop, would I be happy when I got home?" Stay focused on what you want and how you want it to be and everything will come up Milhouse.[/quote]
i'm not disputing this is a good recipe. there's lots of different recipes that work well. usually, a general rule is if you're not experienced with making a particular type of thing, stick with the easiest possible recipe until you've the techniques down then go to a more complicated one. with mine, you can add the salt with the flour instead of into the yeast. i have a pizza stone and pizza peel, so i don't do the entire cookie sheet thing. i was taught to *never* roll dough because it compresses the air bubbles and makes a tough, heavy crust. i've practiced throwing dough, which also doubles to shake off any extra flour so the dough doesnt dry out. also, if you want extra sauce, you can bake the crust with a "normal" amount of sauce then add extra sauce and the cheese after about 10 minutes. i prefer to do pizza for about 15 mins on 450-500 depending on the oven. some people prefer 400-450 for 20-25 mins.
my family has owned a gourmet bakery and deli in the bronx for 60 years. i started working there when i was 10.