Italian Style Pizza Dough

Jencathen's Note:

Reminds me of the pizzas I used to get when I lived in Italy for 3 years. This turns out best with a pizza stone, but you could use a baking sheet also. My directions assume you have a pizza stone.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 40 mins
• Prep Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 6

Yield: 6.0 individ ...

• 6 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• bench flour

Directions:

1. 1. Mix Flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl.
2. 2. Add flour and oil to the flour mixture. Mix to combine. Sprinkle some bench flour on your flat working space and place dough on it. Knead dough until smooth and elastic. This can take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.
3. 3. Place the dough into an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place. Let the dough double in size. This takes about 1 1/2 hours.
4. 4. Divide the dough into 6 portions and shape into balls. Cover with kitchen towel and rest for 30 minutes.
5. 5. When you are ready to bake your pizzas, place a pizza stone in the oven. Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. 6. Roll the dough out to preferred thickness and top with tomato puree (see note below) or oil if making white pizza. Bake for about 5 minutes.
7. 7. Remove pizza from oven and top with toppings of choice. Bake for an additional 5 minutes.
8. ***For authentic tasting pizzas use either Pomì Strained Tomatoes or Cento Tomato Puree.