Pizza Dough

Friday night is pizza night here. Most of the time we make it ourselves and Jack helps. I often buy a frozen ball of dough from the grocery store but lately I've been making it. This Giada dough recipe is dough perfection. It rolls out super thin which makes for a super crispy crunchy crust, which is how we like it in the Saul house. Note: this makes 2 large pizzas.

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet active dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

1. Measure the water and add the yeast. Let sit until it dissolves and bubbles - about five minutes.

2. STAND MIXER: In bowl of stand mixer, add flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and work with dough hook for a couple of minutes, until dough comes together and becomes smooth and elastic. BY HAND: in a large bowl, stir until dough comes together, knead on floured work surface until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

3. Drizzle the inside of the bowl and the dough with olive oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for 2 hours or until doubled in size.

4. Pull dough out and punch it down. Roll it out, place it on a piece of parchment sprinkled with cornmeal. Dress up up the pizza and place it on a large cookie sheet that's been preheating in 475 - 500 oven. Cook for 10-15 minutes until cheese starts to brown and crust is crispy.