California pizza kitchen pizza crust

4 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 teaspoon Yeast
½ cup Plus
1 tablespoon Warm waterm 105-110 degrees
1½ cup Bread flour, or all-purpose
2 teaspoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
Plus 1t for coating

Directions

Recipe By: The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook To prepare dough: Dissolve yeast in water and set aside for 5 to 10 min..

Be sure that water is not too hot: Temps over 120 will kill the yeast.

UPRIGHT ELECTRIC MIXER: Use mixing paddle attachment because batch size is too small for the dough hook. Combine all other ingredients. Add dissolved yeast. Use the lowest 2 speeds to mix dough. Mix 2-3 min. until dough is smoth and elastic. Overmixing will produce tough, rubbery dough, and friction will cause dough to rise too fast.

IF USING FOOD PROCESSOR: Use dough blade.proceed as in preceeding instructions.

IF MIXING BY HAND: Place dry ingredients in a 4-6 qt mixing bowl , make a well in the middle and add liquids. Use a wooden spoon to combine. Lightly oil hands and knead for 5 minutes. When done the dough should be slightly tacky.

LIGHTLEY OIL THE ball and the interior of a 1 qt. glass bowl. Place dough ball in bowl and seal bowl air-tight with clear food wrap. Set aside at room temperature to rise until double in bulk: 1-½ - 2 hrs.

The dough could be used now BUT it would be NOTHING SPECIAL! To obtain that wonderful, chewy, flavorful dough that it will later become, punch down dough, reform a nice round ball and return it to same bowl; cover again with clear plastic wrap. Place bowl in refrigerator overnight, covered airtight. About 2 hours before you are ready to assemble pizza, remove dough from fridge, use a sharp knife to divde dough into 2 equal portions. Roll smaller dough into round balls on a smoothe surface; seal any holes by pinching . Place the dough balls in a glass casserole dish, space far enough to allow each to rise until doubled in size (about 2 hrs.). They should be smooth and puffy.

To stretch and form dough for pizza, sprinkle flour on smooth surface. Use a spatula to carefully remove dough ball from casserol dish . Be very careful to preserve its round shape. Flour the dough liberally. Use your hand or rolling pin to press dough down forming a flat circle about ½" thick. Pinch dough between your fingers around edge forming a ¼" rim.

Continue this outward stretching until you have reaached a 9" diameter pizza dough.

Yields ennough dough for 2- 9" pizzas.

After topping pizza transfer to pizza stone in preheated oven. The stone should be preheated at 500 degrees for 1 hour.

Bake 8 to 10 min.

NOTE: I was really sorry I did not double this recipe the first time I made it!!!!!! It is sooo delicious we ate more (and wanted more)! For something diffrent (and quite good) try " The Original Bbq Chicken Pizza".

Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V3 #190 Date: Mon, 08 Jul 1996 23:12:15 +0000 From: Cheryl Gimenez <clgimenez@...>

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