NEW YORK PIZZA DOUGH - FOLD ABLE
ALSO RECIPE FOR TOMATO PIE
Yields: 1 large or 2 small pizzas
Prep Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours
Ingredients:
2 1/4 teaspoon (1 package) instant dry active yeast
1 cup warm water (not hot!)
1/2 tablespoon sugar
3 cups bread flour, or as needed
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Preparation:
Add the water, yeast, sugar, and a 1/2 cup of the flour into a mixing bowl. Stir well and let sit for 20 minutes. It will get bubbly.
Add olive oil, salt, and 2 cups of the flour, and mix with a wooden spoon until it's together enough to turn out on to a lightly floured work surface to knead.
Knead for about 10 minutes, while adding more flour a little at a time, to produce a soft, elastic and slightly sticky dough. Do not add too much flour, just enough to keep it from sticking to the work surface as you knead.
Form the dough into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl. Drizzle a few drops of oil and coat the top of dough to prevent the surface from becoming dry.
Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm spot for 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
Punch down the dough and divide into 2 balls and place in large zip lock plastic bags and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to use, remove from fridge, and let the dough come up to room temperature before using.
FOR TOMATO PIE
Pizza Sauce
28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes (Redpack brand preferred)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano flakes
Puree the tomatoes, garlic, and oregano in a blender. Pour into a saucepan and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes (do not boil).
When ready to make pizza, remove dough from refrigerator and allow to warm to room temperature. Preheat your oven (with pizza stone) to 550°F one hour prior to making pizza.
Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface. Press the dough into a flat, round disc. Use your fingers or the palm of your hand to press the dough out thin, leaving an outside raised edge. Place the dough over your fists and begin stretching it into a large circle. Place the dough on a pizza peel which was been dusted with flour, cornmeal, or semolina flour. Add your sauce, toppings, and cheese (perform this step rather quickly so that the dough will not have time to stick to the peel). Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake until the crust is dark brown and somewhat charred. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving pan and slice.
TIP: A pizza peel is a bit tricky to use at first, but you'll soon get the hang of it! First, it is important to have a good dusting of cornmeal on the peel which keeps the dough from sticking and greatly helps the pizza in sliding off. Before you attempt to transfer the pizza into the oven, hold the peel level and in front of you. Quickly jerk the peel back and forth a few times to loosen the pizza; you'll see the pizza start to slide around a bit. Once it is loose and you are confident that it is not sticking to the peel, place the peel at the very back of the oven, hold the handle at an upward angle, and make a series of short, quick backwards jerks letting the pizza slide off and onto the pizza stone. Some people forget to loosen the pizza and, even worse, try to make one huge backwards jerk to get the pizza off. This usually results in a huge mess!!