Traditional Florentine Pizza Crust

Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr 30 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups bread flour

Recipe

• 1 mix the water with the sugar and yeast. let stand for 5 minutes until dissolved and the yeast starts to bubble.
• 2 add the salt, olive oil and 1 cup of the flour and mix well.
• 3 add 2 more cups of flour, dough should be still a little sticky but should be able to form a ball.
• 4 turn out onto floured surface and start to knead, adding a little bit of flour as needed, until your dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
• 5 form a fall, place into an oiled bowl and cover with a cloth napkin. let dough rise for 45 minutes. punch down and divide in half.
• 6 preheat oven to 400°f if using a pizza stone, be sure to put the stone in the oven while it heats up.
• 7 if using a baking pizza pan, lightly oil your baking pizza pan. otherwise, shape pizza on a lightly floured surface. with your hands, press on the dough to spread it out to about 1/2 cm high (very thin). top pizza with toppings of your choice. allow to rest for 10-15 minutes. if using a pizza stone, transfer to pizza stone.
• 8 drizzle olive oil over the top of the pizza before placing into the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes if using a pizza pan, 8-5 minutes if using a pizza stone, or until the cheese has melted and the crust is golden.