The Dog House

Traditional Pizza Crust

Pizza crust the old fashioned way. Takes about six hours.

½ cup warm water, around 110°F
2 tbsp. active dry yeast
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
1½ cups warm water, around 110°F
4½ cups all-purpose flour

Add ½ cup water and yeast to very large bowl. Whip with wire whisk until yeast is throughly dissolved. Then add vegetable oil and 1/4 cup flour, stirring with the wire whisk until it makes a nice swampy mixture. Set aside in a warm place for a half hour.

Add sugar, salt and the rest of the water. Then begin adding flour, a cup at a time, mixing with a large spoon until the dough gets too hard to handle. Then turn onto counter and knead by hand, adding more flour, if necessary, until the dough forms a nice, firm ball.

Roll the ball in an oiled bowl, making sure to coat the entire ball with oil. Cover the bowl with a clean towl or plastic wrap and place in a warm place. Let rise for four or five hours, then turn dough onto counter and knead again.

Divide ball in two. Hand press each ball into a pizza sheet, completely covering the sheet. Set dough aside to rise again while assembling the pizza ingredients. Let dough rise to desired crust thickness.

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/Gas 6. Add a thin layer of pizza or spaghetti sauce, enough to cover the dough. Layer toppings and bake for 20 minutes or longer. Lift the edge of the dough occasionally to check for crust doneness. Avoid overbaking.