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1
Stir together the water, yeast and the sugar.
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2
Let rest until the yeast foams, about 3 minutes.
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3
Place 2 1/2-cups of the flour, salt and cornmeal in a mixing bowl and combine.
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4
Add the yeast mixture and olive oil and stir together to form a sticky dough.
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5
Remove from bowl and knead, adding the remaining flour a little at a time until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
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6
The longer you knead, the more texture your dough will have.
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7
Turn the dough into a lightly oiled bowl.
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8
Cover with a dry towel and place in a warm, draft free area.
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9
(I usually stick it in the oven. If your oven is cold, very briefly- about 1 minute- turn to highest temp, then off again, well before placing bowl in oven. Let's not melt any bowls, eh?) Let rise for at least one hour.
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10
When dough has doubled in bulk, punch back down.
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11
At this point, add any of the optional ingredients at end of recipe, or as desired.
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12
Let the dough rise again, until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
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13
Or, if there were no extra additions, shape and add toppings.
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14
Bake at 500u00b0F for about 8 minutes.
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15
Optional, but worthwhile: fresh herbs (I use basil, oregano and thyme), chopped minced garlic, parmiagiano-reggiano and extra cornmeal for texture.
