Pizza Dough

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4 ½ cups unbleached high-gluten bread or all-purpose flour, chilled

1 ¾ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1/4 cup olive oil

1¾ cups ice cold water

flour for dusting

Mix together ingredients in a 4 quart bowl until liquids are absorbed. Work into a loose ball and pour out on a clean work surface. Work dough, kneeding by hand until it is a nice sticky ball. Cut ball into four equally sized pieces, coat with more olive oil and place each ball in a zip lock bag. Seal and place in the fridge for at least two hours and up to three days.

         Take dough balls out of fridge , press them into a 1 inch thick disc and let them warm to room temperature(about and hour or maybe a little more).

When they are ready you can hand toss them or roll them out with a rolling pin. I roll them out into 7"x 14" rectangles and the crust turns out nice and thin,

         Once you top them with desired stuff, bake in hot oven on a pizza stone (450F to 500F) for 10 minutes. Use a pizza paddle and some cornmeal to slip them on the stone and to scoop them up when they’re done.

Pizza Margherita

Pizza dough recipe from above (makes four 7inch by 14 inch pizzas

         these ingredients are for one of four:

1 T olive oil

3 Roma tomatoes cross cut thinly

8 ounces of fresh mozzerella sliced in 1/4 inch discs

5 to 6 large basil leaves cut chiffonade

pinch crushed red peppers

salt and pepper to taste 

assemble the pizzas: spread olive oil over pizza crust. Lay on tomato, then cheese, add basil, crushed pepper and salt and pepper. Bake as directed.