Great Pizza/pasta Dough Recipe

Ingredients

• • 1 pkg. active dry yeast.
• • 1 cup warm water.
• • 1 tsp. salt
• • 3 ½ cups all purpose flour.
• • 2 eggs, lightly beaten.
• • 3 Tbs. olive oil. For pizza and pasta only.

Instructions

1. 1.In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then add the salt and stir gently.
2. 2.Add the flour and olive oil (only if you are making pizza dough) and mix until you can knead it with your hands. The dough should stick a little bit for the first few minutes but will then form itself into a ball with a bit more kneading and folding. Once it is formed into a ball, dump it onto a lightly floured wooden surface and knead for exactly 12 minutes. Are you kidding? Use a pasta machine or dough hooks. See Photo
3. 3.Once the ball of dough is smooth, place it in a lightly floured or oiled bowl, cover with a clean dish towel, and let rise in a warm place, such as inside a turned-off oven, for 2 hours.
4. 4.Punch down the dough after 1 hour, cover, and let rise another hour. For more flavor, let the rising process go on longer: cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight (this is called a cold rise), but let the dough return to room temperature before working it again. Now it is ready for making into a pizza. If you are making bread, go on to step 5, otherwise, use this dough for any recipe calling for Basic Bread and Pizza Dough.
5. 5.Preheat the oven to 475 F. (250 C) Transfer the dough to a baking stone, form into the shape you wish, and score with a razor blade or very sharp knife See Photo. Let this rest, covered with a clean dish towel, for 30 minutes and you get a thicker, lighter pizza.
6. 6.For pizza; place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven, then the loaf on the baking stone on the center rack. See Photo
7. 7.Reduce the oven temperature to 425 F. (220 C.) and bake 10 minutes.
8. 8.Remove from the oven and spread on your sauce and pizza toppings of choice. See Photo
9. 9.Return to the oven and bake another 30 – 35 minutes.
10. Variation : Use 6 tablespoons milk and 3/4 cup water instead of 1 cup water for a richer flavor.
11. Secrets of Baking Pizza
12. There are many different ways you can make pizzas, beyond the topping. They can be cooked at temperatures ranging from 350 F. (175 C.) in a home oven to 900 F. (480 C.) in a commercial wood-burning brick pizza oven See Photo. High heat gives the best results. Best thing is to experiment, but without a doubt your pizza will taste better if you are using a baking stones and a higher temp.