Pizza Dough

I've shied away from making my own pizza dough for a long time. Many people have mentioned how easy it is, chefs on cooking shows make it look like a snap, and pizzas made with home-made dough always taste amazing! Why have I avoided this relatively simple technique? One word: Yeast. It scares me. But, it was time to face my fear and give it a shot. And you know what? It was easy. A snap. And it made some pretty tasty pizza crust!


I turned to my standard resource for guidance, Allrecipes.com, then I made some changes:

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes (this is called "blooming" the yeast - I had no idea what to expect or look for, but after about 10 minutes a cloud of foam suddenly appeared on the surface of the water - very cool!).
2. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar, dried herbs, garlic powder and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed (when the dough starts to form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl it's finished). Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Pound down, recover bowl and let rise again till doubled in size (another 30 minutes). Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Cut in half and form each half into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

(NOTE: if you do not use the dough right away, it can be refrigerated for a few days or frozen)