How to make Pizza Dough (Charlie’s Favorite)

Last call and Pizza Dough! 

It’s our last family night at the beach and traditionally it is a clean out the fridge kind of dinner.  We just accumulate all the leftovers and spread them out on the counter for a buffet style dinner.

There is always a little of this and a little of that so to tie it all together Charlie makes pizza and with that the meal is complete. 

 PIZZA DOUGH 

(Charlie’s Favorite) 

We are a pizza loving family!

I have even witnessed some of our children and grandchildren eating pizza for breakfast. 

There are all sorts of recipes for pizza dough. There’s New York style, Chicago style and Sicilian style to name a few.  Over the years after many recipe trials in our family, this is the one everybody agreed on and it can be made with a myriad of toppings.  

SERVINGS: Yield 2 12 or 14-inch pizzas

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ½ cups water
• 2-3 tsp instant dry yeast
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 ¾ cups bread flour – see note, or 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour – see note
• 2 tbs olive oil – helps in stretching dough
• 1-2 tsp sugar – gives dough rich brown color

CHARLIE’S METHOD:

1. In your mixing bowl, place water, olive oil, flour, sugar and yeast to blend. 
2. Add salt and continue to mix until the dough pulls away from the bowl.  If the dough is wet (sticky), add flour, one TB at a time until the dough pulls away from the bowl.  If the dough seems too dry, add water one TB at a time until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.   
3. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball. 
4. Cut the ball in half and place each half in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a linen towel until doubled in size. This usually takes 40-60 minutes. 
5. Optionally, age the dough by placing the divided dough balls covered with plastic film in the refrigerator for 12-18 hours. 
6. Remove from the refrigerator and let rest on the counter for 30-45 minutes before stretching. (This is good when you want to prepare the dough in advance) 

For very thin crispy pizza, use a pastry roller on a well-floured surface to stretch the dough to your preferred size. 

NOTE: Bread flour will make a crisp dough while all-purpose flour will make a softer chewy dough.  

Buon Mangiati!