Pizza Dough

This pizza dough recipe is the bomb. It came from Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian (1993). He developed this recipe because it was close to the one served at Brandi, a famous pizza house in Naples. This is THE pizza dough recipe. Prep time excludes rising time. Bake dough at 450 for 10 to 15 minutes after you have topped pizzas.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 9
• Yields: 3 14

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 cups  tepid water (about 110)
• 2 1⁄2 teaspoons fast-rising active dry yeast
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 3 1⁄4 cups unbleached flour (1 lb 2 oz weighed out on a good scale)
• 1⁄4 cup cornmeal

Directions

1. Place the tepid water in a mixing bowl.
2. Dissolve the yeast and salt in the water.
3. Add the oil, 1 1/2 cups of the weighed-out flour, and the cornmeal.
4. Beat together for 5 to 10 minutes to form a sticky batter.
5. Knead in the remaining flour until you have a smooth dough.
6. Place on a clean counter and cover with the bowl.
7. Allow to rise until double in bulk (about 1 hour).
8. Punch the dough down and divide into 3 equal parts.
9. To make a pizza, roll a portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 14 inch diameter.
10. Place the rolled dough on a lightly oiled pizza pan (Jeff Smith prefers Wilton).
11. This dough recipe makes enough for three 14 inch pizzas.