Masa de Pizza Casera

Ingredientes

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115° F)
• 1 tablespoon rapid rise or instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
• 4 cups 00 pizza flour (or bread flour or all-purpose flour)

Preparación

1. 1

   --- Make the Pizza Dough ---

2. 2

   Add warm water, yeast and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir gently to combine. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes until yeast becomes active. Yeast should be bubbly. (Instructions on making dough by hand, without a mixer are included in the notes below.)

3. 3

   Add the olive oil, salt, garlic powder (if using) and flour to the bowl. Begin mixing on low speed using a paddle attachment until combined.

4. 4

   Next, remove paddle attachment and knead the dough with the dough hook on low speed.

5. 5

   Check the dough after 5 minutes of kneading. If the dough is more than a little sticky when pressing on it with your finger add an additional tablespoon of flour. Continuing kneading to incorporate all flour for an additional 3 minutes. After about 8 minutes of kneading, the dough should spring back when lightly pressing on it.

6. 6

   Transfer the dough to a clean, dry and lightly floured work surface. If the dough is overly sticky, light rub with flour. Split the dough in half and shape each half into a ball. (Freeze half of the dough if only making 1 pizza). Cover each dough ball with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for at least 30 minutes until doubled in size.

7. 7

   Preheat oven to 500° F and place an oven rack one space above the bottom rack position. Oil pizza steels or baking sheets with a high temperature cooking spray or vegetable oil. Do NOT preheat the pizza pans.

8. 8

   --- Shape the Dough ---

9. 9

   Punch the dough down to release any large air bubbles. Shape the dough into a ball by tucking the sides under.

10. 10

    Use a rolling pin and a lightly floured work surface to roll the dough out into a 14-inch diameter circle. Roll from the center outward in all directions for a circular shape. Use a more oval shape if you are using a baking sheet in place of a circular pizza pan.

11. 11

    Place the rolled out pizza dough onto the prepared pizza pan. If the edges are larger than the pizza pan, fold them over a bit (towards the pizza) to form a nice thick crust on the edges. Repeat with the other half of the dough on a second pizza pan if making two pizzas.

12. 12

    --- Assemble and Bake Pizzas ---

13. 13

    Add pizza sauce, cheese and toppings as desired. Bake pizzas, one at a time, for 7 minutes. You may need to bake an additional 1 - 2 minutes until the crust and cheese are lightly browned. Let pizzas rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.