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Makes sufficient for 6, 12 inch pizzas
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Add all ingredients except 1 cups of the flour to the bowl. Using the dough hook on your electric mixer, mix together well and allow to run on low speed for about 10 minutes.
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Start adding the rest of the flour a little at a time until a soft dough forms. The dough will be a little sticky but don’t worry about that, just allow it to rise in a warm spot for a couple of hours or more before turning it out into a bread board and kneading by hand, adding more flour if necessary to firm up the dough.
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You may have to use a little more or a little less flour depending factors like local humidity. Just use as much as it takes to form the dough, adding only a little at a time as you knead.
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Form into 6 balls and allow the dough to rest at least a half hour before rolling out or stretching it to 12 inch circles.
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NOTE: I think that pizza dough should be made a day or even two in advance and cold proofed, covered, in the fridge. It has better flavor and texture after this long proofing period.
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Preheat your pizza stone in middle rack of your oven for half an hour at 450 degrees F.
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Place the circle of dough on a wooden peel that has been well sprinkled generously with cornmeal. The cornmeal will allow the pizza to slide off the peel (I’ve even used a thin piece of cardboard in a pinch if you do not have a peel. You can also prepare the pizza on a pizza pan and when it has been baking for 4 minutes, slide it from the pan, directly onto the pizza stone to crisp the bottom crust well.) Make sure your pizza is sliding on the cornmeal base before adding your toppings.
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Brush the pizza crust with garlic olive oil and sprinkle on some freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle on a little Parmesan cheese. Top with the ham and scatter the cheddar and mozzarella cheese cubes evenly over the surface. Never pile toppings onto a thin crust pizza, keeping them in a single layer always works best for quickly cooked pizzas.
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Shake your peel to make sure the pizza is not stuck. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone, shaking it slightly in a back and forth motion as you slowly retract the wooden peel. Bake for about 8- 10 minutes or until the bottom is evenly brown.
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Remove from oven and allow to stand for a couple of minutes before cutting and serving.