Psst!!! Don't tell....but..... Actually pizza dough is bread dough!!...yep...that's what it is!
Now you can add some garlic or basil and oregano....but really! Pizza dough is pretty much just bread dough rolled thin with toppings! Flour, water, salt yeast and a bit of olive oil.....
Linda C

I just made pizza tonite..here's a really easy no-knead dough that tastes good, too. Hope you like it!

No Knead Pizza

1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (add more if needed)
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in remaining ingredients. Beat vigorously 20 strokes and let rest 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Press the dough into the pan. Spread sauce over dough and top with your favorite toppings.

Bake on middle rack of oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

For the past year or so I've gotten really good pizza dough recipes from the Pizzamaking.com web site. I usually use the Tom Lehmann's dough recipe and sometimes mix it in my food processor.

The Pizzaria Uno deep dish recipe is excellent too!

Teresa

Here is a link that might be useful: Pizza dough recipes at Pizzamaking.com

I have never used the olive oil in my dough, only butter. I am thinking that might be one of the touchstones of good pizza dough.

Last night we'd invited a few friends over and like it always seems to happen, the guys drift off and the women find the kitchen to talk. Making pizza dough came up and Anita said she's been using bagel dough for years and puts in the oven with a pan of boiling water, takes it out, tops it and then bakes it.

This might be the fall of pizza appreciation at our house!

The kids loved doing their own toppings and I will have a chance to try out some recipes for doughs.

I am also wondering if being at this high of altitude is having a factor. I use Hungarian Flour because it is High Altitude flour, so that should be enough to give me what I am looking for in a rising and flavor from what I know.

Try this link for tons of pizza info.

http://www.correllconcepts.com/Encyclopizza/_home_encyclopizza.htm

Fantastica Site-ah for pizza!

Like I said....pizza dough is bread dough. Any of the recipes posted will make 2 nice loaves of Italian bread.
Linda C

I make pizza using the same dough I use to make Italian Bread. Makes a

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Italian Bread
=============
This recipe is also perfect for both Focaccia and Pizza.

Sometimes I make a Biga the night before using 1 1/2 cups of the flour used in this recipe with one cup of water and 1/2 teaspoon yeast. If you don't have time to make the biga then this the recipe works just fine as follows. This is a very wet dough and needs to be mixed in a machine for a long time before you can finish kneading by hand. I use a Magic Mill Machine. If you are using something like a kitchenaide you have to watch it carefully as it climbs up the beater or hook.

8 Cups Bread flour
1 Tablespoon Yeast
1 1/2 Tablespoons Salt
about 4 cups of water
2 Tablespoons olive oil. (optional)
. Mix flour yeast water and oil( Optional) (not salt) together for a
minute and leave for 20 minutes for the water to be partially absorbed.
Add salt and mix for about 30 minutes until the dough comes together
enough to be worked by hand. Continue kneading until smooth. Place in
an large oiled bowl and rub olive oil on top, cover and let rise until
more than doubled. Pour out on to surface and divide into the number of
loafs you require. Do not punch out the air. Shape into loafs, sprinkle
tops with flour and leave to rise on a flour/cornmeal dusted surface.
Heat tile/stones in oven to 500 degrees while bread is rising. Slide
loafs on to hot stone and spray with cold water, three times, three
minutes apart. Lower heat to 450 and bake for about 30 minutes. (I can
do two loafs at a time in the oven on a large stone).

Focaccia:

To make Focaccia use some of the dough and place in a oil rubbed pan
(I use a rectangle shaped cake pan) Cover with plastic wrap and let
rise. Using you fingers indend the focaccia and drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle with whatever toppings you prefer. Salt, Rosemary, Sauted or
thinly sliced onions, black olives, etc....

Focaccia can be baked directly on heated pizza stone as well.

I also use this recipe to make a number of large pizzas. .

A really good website for pizza bakers !

My boyfriend is originally from Philly and is incredibly picky about pizza (thin crust only, for example, among other rules). I set my sights on a project of learning to make a pizza at home that he might favour and after some practice and documenting, this is how I make mine (and when I haven't made something in advance and he wants pizza at the last minute, Trader Joe's pizza dough is pretty darned good). Apologies for the overly thoroughness, it's how I got it all down for my records after a few attempts.

5 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure olive oil
3/4 cup warm water
2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 teaspoons olive oil
olive oil, for pizza crust
flour or cornmeal, for dusting the pizza peel (I used whole wheat flour and found it to be my new favourite(also I do not have a peel and simply use a flat cookie sheet)

-Place the sugar, salt, 1 TBSP olive oil, water, 1 cup flour, yeast, and remaining cup of flour into your mixer's work bowl. Using the paddle attachment, start the mixer on low and mix until the dough just comes together, forming a ball. Spray your hook attachment with cooking spray and swap it out with the paddle.
-Knead dough for 15 minutes on medium speed.
-After 15 minutes, tear off a small piece of dough and flatten into a disc. Stretch the dough until thin, hold it up to the light, and look to see if a taut membrane has formed (also called a baker's window), you should be able to see a webbing of membranes and nearly be able to see through the dough. If the dough tears before it forms, if you aren't able to pull it thin to almost see through before it rips, knead the dough for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
-Form the dough into a smooth ball on the countertop, sealing it unto itself. Place the dough ball in a large stainless or glass bowl and add 2 tsp olive oil, tossing to coat. Cover with plastic wrap (doesn't have to be a perfect seal) and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours.
-Place pizza stone or tile onto the bottom of a cold oven (or if your heating element is on the bottom of your oven, simply place stone onto the lowest position oven rack) and turn the oven on to its highest temperature, 500° or mine goes to 550°.
-Split the dough into 2 equal pieces using a knife or dough scraper. Flatten each piece into a disc onto the countertop and then fold each piece into a ball. Wet hands barely with water and rub them onto the countertop to dampen the surface slightly to make it 'sticky', roll the dough on the surface until it tightens into a smooth ball.
-Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 30 minutes. If you won't be immediately using the second ball of dough, spray the inside of a ziplock bag and place the dough ball into the bag. Seal and refrigerate for up to 6 days.
-Sprinkle flour or cornmeal onto peel and place dough onto the peel. Using your hands, form a lip around the edges of the pizza.
-Stretch the dough into a round disc, holding the center with one hand and gently pulling the edges outward with the other hand, rotating after each stretch, try tossing if you're up for it, but do not use a rolling pin!
-Shake the pizza on the peel to be sure that it will slide onto the pizza stone or tile. Dress and bake the pizza immediately for a crisp crust or rest the stretched dough for 30 minutes if you want a chewy texture.
-To dress the pizza, brush the rim of the pizza with olive oil. Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the pizza. Sprinkle the herbs onto the sauce and then any toppings you might want. Top with cheese.
-Slide the pizza onto the tile and bake for 7 or 8 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown, checking the underside for doneness before removing. Rest finished pizza for 3 minutes before cutting.

Hey Teresa thanks for posting that link! I have been looking for a recipe for uno's crust forever. Anyone got a good recipe for a dough you can freeze? I have been thinking about taking my kitchen aide to my mom's to make up some calazones and pizza dough. Maybe some cookie dough. She lives 2 hours away and I wanna stock her freezer for my 6 neices and nephew who come over hungry all the time! You know how teens can be! LOL

Here is a freezer pizza dough I used for many years when I had more freezer space and my two boys still at home.

Homemade Pizza Dough to Freeze

1 pkg. active dried yeast
1/4 c. warm water
1 t. sugar
2 t. salt
2 TB shortening
2 c. boiling water
6 c. all-purpose flour plus additional if needed

Dissolve yeast in the 1/4 c. warm water in a small bowl or cup. Put sugar, salt, and shortening into a large bowl. Add the boiling water. Stir and let cool to lukewarm. Then add in the dissolved yeast. Add 1/2 of the flour, mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the flour and mix well. Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 8 minutes. Use additional flour sparingly to keep dough from sticking while kneading.

Let dough rise in a greased bowl, covered, until double in bulk. Punch down, knead a few times. Divide dough into 5 or 6 equal portions. Press and stretch into 10-inch circles and place on round pizza pans or large flat baking sheets. Let stand 15 minutes. Then top sparingly with a thick pizza sauce and grated cheese. Bake at 400 for 5 minutes. Cool. Freeze firm, then wrap in plastic wrap, finally putting in a plastic bag as an overwrap.

To use: Open, remove pizza from wrappings, top with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, hamburger, more cheese or other favorite toppings. Bake at 400-425 for about 15 minutes or more until pizza is bubbly, cheese is melted and crust edges are starting to brown.

Note: I think you could sub olive oil or vegetable oil for the shortening and use warm water rather than boiling water.

This makes 5-6 10" pizzas depending on how thin you like your crust. Please do not roll out the crust with a rolling pin, but pat it and stretch it to size.

Teresa

here is my trusted pizza dough companion ... i use it for pizza, pizzettes, calzone, savoury fingers [baked and then grilled], scrolls .. you name it!! If you roll it out thinly, you will surely get a crispier crust and for a nice variation, sprinkle some dried herbs in the flour before kneading [oregano and basil go well with the general pizza theme]

For the pizza purest pizza dough has no oil of any kind. Yeast, flour, water and salt. We. Also use Whole Wheat flour exclusively. Make about 20 pizzas per month. Bake them all in a Quisenart Brick Oven. On our 4th oven.