Pizza Dough

Okay Rach- here is my guilt post. Well... actually it is probably more of a procrastination post because I am supposed to be writing a paper now and I rather update the food blog. Either way- I'm back and it is not a one author blog anymore :)

This is from my Recipes cookbook by Susan Spungen. I made the pizza dough in my kitchen aid mixer which was really exciting because I haven't used it for anything but cookies since I got it. Then I made calzones and bread sticks. Delicious- anything with bread and cheese you can't really go wrong. The dough was pretty easy, just took a while. I put fresh basil, olive oil, and mozzarella in my calzone. Yum.

Basic Pizza Dough

Makes four 10 inch pizzas

1 package active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling bowl
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

1) Fill metal bowl of an electric stand mixer with hot water then pour it out and dry. this will warm the bowl.

2) In the warmed bowl, make a sponge by mixing the yeast with 1/2 cup warm (100 - 110 degrees) water; stir until the yeast is dissolved. Stir in 1 cup flour. The mixture will be very thick and stiff. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3) Add 1 cup (100 - 110 degrees) water, the milk, oil, and salt. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and turn on low. Slowly add the remaining 3 1/2 cups flour and mix into a soft dough. Change to the dough hook and knead for about 15 mins. The dough should be sticky.

4) Form the dough into a ball. (If it is too sticky, put a few drops of oil on your hands first.) Transfer to an oiled bowl. Turn the dough to coat the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until it has doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.

5) Punch down the dough, knead a few times, and reshape into a ball. Return to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough sit until nearly doubled, about 40 mins. The dough is now ready to use.

*If making ahead of time, transfer to bowl the the refrigerator overnight. A few hours before using remove the dough from the refrigerator and punch down. divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, cover with plastic wrap, and let dough come to room temperature in a warm place, about 2 hours.