Pizza to die for….

I am by no means a cook.  I attempt and enjoy baking but cooking has never been my specialty so I was pleasantly surprised to try a new pizza recipe tonight that came out amazing.  Aiden, Chris and Mike all commented and raved about which could be a first.  The trick is totally in preheating your oven as recommended AND your baking stone.  Something so simple yet makes such a difference.  This recipe is a keeper in our family for sure.  If you’re still in search of a satisfying pizza crust, give this one a whirl. 

I loaded my bread machine with all ingredients, started it up, preheated my oven and pizza stone to 500 and waited.  The result, fluffy, puffy, crunchy pizza crust.  The best of everything. Enjoy!

Perfect Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup water, at room temperature
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the bread flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend. Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture. With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast mixture, as well as the olive oil. Mix until a cohesive dough is formed. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Press down the dough to deflate it. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball. Cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough relax for 20 minutes.

To bake, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500* F for at least 30 minutes. Transfer the dough to your shaping surface, lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Shape the dough with lightly floured hands. Brush the outer edge lightly with olive oil. Top as desired. Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.