My Favorite Italian Pizza Recipes

Steps:

• Drizzle a baking sheet with olive oil and then dust lightly with semolina or cornmeal.
• Set aside.
• For the dough, hand whisk the water and yeast together in the bowl of an electric mixer.
• Let stand for 3 minutes for the yeast to dissolve.
• Stir in the oil, salt, sugar, all purpose flour and 1 cup of the bread flour.
• Mix to make a soft dough.
• Knead on the lowest speed of the mixer with a dough hook for 8 minutes, adding more flour gradually until a soft elastic dough is formed.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
• Loosely cover in a plastic bag and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes until almost doubled.
• For the topping, put the tomatoes in a large bowl, crushing with a fork to break them up.
• Add the sauce, pepper, salt, sugar, oil, garlic and herbs, mixing well.
• turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
• Let rest for a few minutes.
• Press or roll the dough out to fit the prepared baking sheet.
• Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top of the dough.
• Spread on the tomato topping and top with the cheese and pepperoni. (I like to add black olives, hot peppers and sliced mushrooms).
• Let dough rise until quite puffy, about 30-45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425*F.
• Bake the pizza for 15 minutes.
• Lower the heat to 375*F and bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes until cheese is melted and lightly browned.