makes: 3 15" pizza crusts
baking pans: pizza stone or screen
oven: 550° (the hotter the better)

Are you a purist? Just can't believe that a serious Italian dough would have more than four ingredients? Simplify... simplify... simplify...? Or are you just lazy enough to want a good pizza crust without all that garlic chopping?

A couple of years ago, while searching for the perfect pizza crust, my wife and I put together a serious contender. The result was beer pizza crust, which is held together by beer and loaded with garlic, is incredibly tasty. But it doesn't throw well, and is really too complicated to be an honest pizza recipe. Deep down, I'm afraid that the God of pizza will one day come come after me.

So here is my peace offering: a simple recipe for a traditional pizza crust. Classic Italian ingredients and a full, wonderful flavor. Before you get started, take a minute to check out the tips for the home pizzeria. Some of what you find there will help you understand what you find here.

ingredients

4 to 5 cups bread flour
4-1/2 teaspoons (2 pkgs) quick yeast
1 tablespoon salt
16 ounces hot water (120-130°)

preparation

In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, and salt. Pour in water and mix thoroughly for 2 minutes, or about 120 strokes.

Stir in the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough becomes a rough, shaggy mass that cleans the sides of the bowl. It the dough is too sticky, sprinkle with flour.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead with a rhythmic push-turn-fold motion for 8 - 10 minutes. It the dough is too sticky, sprinkle with small additions of flour.

Place the dough in a greased bowl (I use olive oil), cover tightly with plastic wrap, and leave at room temperature to rise (30 to 45 minutes).

If preparing the dough the night before, place in a greased bowl, cover tightly, and place in the fridge. On pizza day, remove the dough from the fridge, punch it down, and allow it to come to room temperature before shaping.

shaping

When doubled in bulk, punch the dough down with the fingertips and kneed for 1 minute to press out the bubbles. Put the dough on a lightly floured work surface and cut in thirds with a sharp knife.

Shape each section into a ball and let rest for about 5 minutes. Shape each ball into a flat circle, 6 to 8 inches across and 1 inch or so thick. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk (about 30 to 45 minutes).

Before you throw your crust, sprinkle a liberal amount of flour on your pizza peel. Throw the dough into a circle. [More on that some other day. I've got it figured out, but am not sure how to describe it here. For now, I'd advise you to spend about 20 minutes watching the guy at the pizza place.]

If throwing is not an option, there's no shame in using a rolling pin. Since a pin presses some of the air out of the crust, it takes a bit of the softness out of the crust. All the same, it beats sending it to davey jones locker.

Place the crust on the pizza peel and build your pizza. This is the coolest part of it all! You can have whatever you want, and it's not $1.50 per topping.

baking

Sprinkle a liberal amount of flour on your pizza stone, and carefully shimmy the pizza off the peel and onto the stone. Cook at 500° for 10 to 12 minutes. The edges of the crust and the toppings should brown a bit.