Basic Pizza Dough

With this dough, you can make large pizza crusts to serve several, or small ones to serve a few.

INGREDIENTS

1 package active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

2/3 cup warm water

1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons oil

Vegetable oil for pan

1-1/2 tablespoons cornmeal for pan

1 14-inch pizza crust OR 2 9-inch pizza crusts

Stir yeast and sugar into warm water and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Insert metal blade, put flour and salt in work bowl and turn on machine. Pour yeast mixture through feed tube and process about 45 seconds, until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Add oil through feed tube and process 60 seconds longer.

If dough sticks to sides of bowl, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, processing for 10 seconds after each addition, until dough leaves sides of bowl but remains soft.

Roll dough on floured surface into circle, rotating and turning dough often and using enough flour so it doesn't stick. If dough resists rolling, let it rest for a few minutes and try again. Roll dough into 15-inch circle for flat14-inch pizza pan, or into 10-inch circles for flat 9-inch pizza pans.

Oil pan(s) lightly and sprinkle with cornmeal. Fold rolled dough in half loosely and then in half again. Position point at center of pan and gently unfold. Press into place from center outward, turn under the 1-inch overhang and shape it into a rim. Crust(s) is now ready to bake and fill.