• 2 Cups “00” flour or all-purpose flour

• 1/2 Cup high gluten bread flour

• 1 Teaspoon salt

• 1 1/4 Teaspoon instant yeast

• 1 Tablespoon italian seasoning

• 1/4 Cup olive oil

• 1 Cup water

 

1. If you would like to proof your yeast, you should do it now. Stir it into the warm water and wait a few minutes. It should start to burst up from the bottom of the bowl.

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2. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add the oil and stir until everything is fully incorporated.  Pour most of the water into the flour and stir, making sure your spoon is getting the sides and bottom of the bowl in order to incorporate as much as possible.  Once you feel like the water is as absorbed as it can get, start adding the remaining water while stirrring; until a rough mass of dough has formed.

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3.  Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface.  Knead the dough, pressing with the heel of your hand, into the dough.  After pushing the dough into the counter, fold it back over onto itself and rotate it.  As you do this you will feel the dough tightening under your hands.  Kneading by hand for ten minutes should be sufficient.

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4. Put your dough into a well oiled bowl, cover it with plastic and place it in the fridge overnight. The next day, pull it from the fridge several hours before use.  If you are baking the same day you are mixing, make sure the dough has several hours to rise at room temperature.

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5. After the dough has risen you will need to start pre-heating the oven. This dough is going to perform the best on a pizza stone. If you use a stone, preheat the oven to its maximum temperature. This should be either 500 or 550 degrees. If you are using a pan, you should only need to pre-heat to 450.

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6. If you are using a stone, press the dough out into your desired shape by hand. Shape it on a piece of parchment paper to make it easier to get into the oven. When you have shaped your crust, dress it with sauce cheese and desired toppings.

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7. When the oven is up to temperature, turn the broiler on high. High heat is important for this pizza so switching over to the broiler will help minimize heat loss when you open the door.  Open the door and quickly but carefully slide the pizza from your peel onto the stone. Close the door and turn off the broiler. The reason for turning on the broiler is to minimize the amount of heat lost when you open the door.

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8. After about five minutes you should be able to, with the help of your peel, to slide the parchment paper out from underneath the pizza. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the crust has gotten a good color to it and the cheese is bubbling. Let the pizza cool for five minutes or so before serving.

If you don’t own a hearth stone and are baking with a pan, bake the pizza at 450 degrees for the same amount of time. Look for the same signs as with the hearth stone; ie – a good color to the crust and the cheese which should be hot and bubbling in the center