how to make a pizza dough?

The basic dough is easy

8 oz. flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 oz. yeast
1 cup luke warm water
1/4 teaspoon sugar
5 tablespoon olive oil

mix everything together, knead the dough good for 10 minutes and let
it rest for 1 hour. Then roll the dough to a round form and top with your
favorite things.

I buy frozen bread dough at the maket, thaw it out, roll it out, add pizza stuff, bake it.
I'm the guy with the bread machine that buys the bread machine mixes and bakes bread.

find some premixed pizza spices and sprinkle that into the dough as well.

I use pretty much what she listed except i add pizza spices and garlic to my bread and dust the bottom with some corn meal. Makes it crunchy and flakey

If you can , use a metal pizza pan. 3/4 of the way through the cooking remove the pizza from the pan and place it right on the rack of the oven for about the last 6 minutes of cooking. This makes the bottom of the bread super crunchy while leaving the top a bit moist.

If you want a more 'soft bread' like crust, every 5 minutes throw in 2 or 3 ice cubes. This will create a steamer like environment that will make the crust of the bread soft.

I use the dough from Carol Field's The Italian Baker -

pizza alla Napolitana -

makes one 15 - 16" pizzza, 2 medium size or 5 or 6 individual pizzas
- I increase the recipe amounts and freeze the remaining dough for later use so the amounts in parentheses are for that

1-3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast or 2/3 small cake (12 gramss) fresh yeast (2-1/2)
pinch sugar (two pinches)
1-1/3 cup warm water (2 cups)
1/4 cup olive oil, plus additional for brushing the crust (3/8 cup)
3-3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) salt if using anchovies in the topping, reduce the salt to a pinch (5-1/2 cups)

Stir the yeast and sugar into the water in a large mixing bowl; let stand until foamy, about five minutes. Stir in the oil. Mix the flour and salt and stir, 1 cup at a time, into the yeast mixture, beating well to get all the lumps out. Knead on a lightly floured surface until soft and satiny but firm, about 8 minutes.

First rise -
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until not quite fully doubled, 45 minutes to an hour

Shaping and second rise -
You may shape the dough with a rolling pin or your hands. Knead the dough briefly to expel the air bubbles, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide the dough if you are making more than one pizza. Roll each piece into a ball then flatten into a thick disk. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough 1/4 to 1/8 " thick. Place the dough on an oiled pizza pan or on a peel* that has been sprinkled with cornmeal or flour.
She then describes how to do all this without a rolling pin, but I won't type that out.

Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let rise for no more than 30 minutes. The dough should be puffy and softly risen.

(add toppings)

Baking - Turn the oven 400 F 30 minutes before baking. Use a baking stone if you have one (mine finally broke a few years ago, which is why I use the tile now as pizza stones are expensive) and sprinkle the stone with cornmeal just before sliding the (topped) pizza onto it. You can bake the pizza in a pan or on the back of a baking sheet, but you won't get the true crisp crust of a Neapolitan pizza without the stone. Bake large pizzas 25 to 30 minutes and smaller ones 15 to 25 minutes. The pizza is done when the crust is golden brown and crisp with little burst blisters visible and the cheese, if you use it, is melted and bubbling. Immediately brush the crust (edge) with oil.

(*I don't do this - I use big floor tiles, one to roll the dough on on top of my counter, and one preheating in the oven - when the dough is ready, I toss the oven tile with cornmeal after pulling forward the oven rack, and put the dough over it, quickly tossing on the pre measured or sliced toppings.)


http://www.amazon.com/Italian-Baker-Carol-Field/dp/0061812668/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263061003&sr=1-1

Instructions
Things You'll Need:
1 1/4 c. warm water
1 tsp. salt
vegetable oils or olive oil
3 1/2 to 4 c. sifted flour
2 packages dry yeasts
pizza pan or baking sheet
1 1/4 c. warm water
Vegetable Oils Or Olive Oil
3 1/2 to 4 c. sifted flour
Pizza Pan Or Baking Sheet
1 tsp. salt
2 packages dry yeasts
Step
1
Sprinkle the yeast into a medium bowlcontaining 1 1/4 cup warm water and stir until yeast dissolves.
Step
2
Add 2 cups sifted flour and stir until blended.
Step
3
Add another 1 1/2 to 2 cups flour and blend until too stiff to stir with a spoon.
Step
4
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it for 10 to 15 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. (See "How to Knead Bread Dough" in the Related eHows.)
Step
5
Place the dough in another bowl greased with a small amount of oil. Turn the dough once so that the top is oiled.
Step
6
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place for about 45 minutes--until the dough rises to about double its original size.
Step
7
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Step
8
Dump the dough back onto the floured surface and punch it down, getting rid of any bubbles. Divide the dough in half and let it rest a few minutes.
Step
9
Roll each half into a 12-inch circle, depending on your personal preference for how thick pizza crust should be. (It will puff slightly when baked.)
Step
10
Transfer the dough to an oiled pizza pan or baking sheet, or, if you have a baking stone, to a cornmeal-sprinkled wooden pizza peel for transfer directly to the stone.
Step
11
Add sauce, cheese and toppings as desired. If you like, brush exposed edges of the crust with olive oil.
Step
12
Bake each pizza for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned and cheese is melted.
Tips & Warnings
If the water is too cold or too hot, the yeast will either not activate or be killed. "Warm" water should be about 115 degrees F - it should feel warm but not hot, rather like you were preparing a baby's bottle. (See "How to Proof Yeast" in the Related eHows.)
You can add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to the dough if you like.
To freeze the dough, form it into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and then in foil, and freeze. To defrost, put it in the refrigerator in the morning before you go to work, then take it out for an hour or two before you plan to bake. It should be room temperature when you roll it.
Possible toppings include roasted eggplant and bell peppers; sautéed onions and Kalamata olives; and wilted spinach with sun-dried tomatoes and ricotta cheese. If you like fresh basil or other herbs on your pizza, add them after the pizza comes out of the oven.