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1.
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In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
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Be sure its not too hot or youll kill the yeast.
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Swish it around in the water with a fork and wait for it to start foaming, about 5 to 10 minutes.
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2.
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To the dissolved yeast, add salt, sugar, olive oil, the herbs, and 2 cups of flour.
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Mix by hand or with an electric or stand mixer until the flour is well incorporated.
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3.
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Next, add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well between each addition, until the dough is the right consistency.
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Whats the right consistency?
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Im glad you asked!
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You want your dough to be moist and sticky, but not too sticky that you cant work with it.
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And definitely not too dry that its flaky and the flour isnt mixing well.
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If you find your dough in this dry state, add some more water a teaspoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.
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If its too sticky, add more flour.
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I find about 3 cups of flour to be the perfect amount.
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4.
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If you dont have a stand mixer with a dough hook, lightly flour a good surface to knead your dough on and knead away!
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If you have a stand mixer, replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook and knead on low to medium-low speed for 5 to 10 minutes.
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The trick is knowing when its ready.
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Your dough should be smooth and elastic, and I suggest trying the window pane test to check: remove a small portion of the dough, thin it out, and stretch it slowly.
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If its ready, the stretched part of the dough should be very thin and translucent.
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If it just tears when you stretch, its not ready.
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5.
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When the dough is ready, place back in the bowl.
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Pour a small amount of olive oil in the bowl and coat the dough.
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Place a piece of plastic wrap over the dough, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
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6.
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Punch down the dough and place on a lightly floured surface.
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This amount of dough can either make 2 thin pizzas or 1 thick pizza, both medium-size.
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Divide the dough in half if youre making 2.
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Using a rolling pin or a pastry roller, shape into the sized pizza you want.
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If you find that the dough is retreating whenever you roll out a section and not holding its shape or size, let the dough sit for a few minutes to simmer down, then resume.
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7.
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Now, get out your pizza pan.
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Flour it, and place large piece of parchment paper on it.
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Then, place your shaped dough on top of the parchment paper.
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With the dough in place, build your pizza.
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8.
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Bake at 475 for 6-10 minutes.
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It really depends on how thick your pizza is, so just keep an eye on it.
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Remove and consume.
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*To up the delicious factor on your crust, right before you put it in the oven, use a pastry brush to brush olive oil around the entire edge of the pizza and then sprinkle with sea salt.
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*
