Pizza dough...

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I came up with this pizza dough recipe a few weeks ago and its definitely a keeper, using pastry flour makes the dough very elactic and easy to stretch out by hand without the use of a rolling pin. The topping of choice, sauce, and cheese are entirely up to you. One thing I do recommend is shaping the dough by hand using oiled hands over a lightly floured surface (I use corlmeal). Bake the pizza at 380* F on the lowest rack and bake until golden brown. Because of the amount of olive oil used in the recipe the crust will be golden in color with the perfect crunch yet soft in the inside which is just how I like my pizza. This recipe makes 2 large pizza crust. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup pastry flour
2 teaspoon fast acting yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm water

Directions
Sift your flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the yeast, with a pinch of sugar and 3 tablespoons of water and stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, 3 to 5 minutes.

If you're using a stand mixer combine your water and half of your flour mix and beat until a cake like batter is formed. Add your oil, and yeast mix and beat for 1 minute, gradually add the remainder of your flour.

When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough gathers into a ball. This should take about 2 minutes. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook.

Feel the dough as you're making it by squeezing a small amount together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water, if it's sticky, add more flour, 1tablespoon at a time. Turn the dough out onto a lightly "oiled" surface and fold it over itself a few times, kneading until it's smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a round and put it into a lightly oiled bowl, turning it over to coat the dough entirely with the oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

This dough recipe uses more oil than your basic pizza dough giving it a nice golden crust on the outside when baked. Shape the pizza using oiled hands and bake at 380*F on the lowest rack.