Italian Pizza Dough

Growing up in New York I was surrounded by Italian's making real Pizza, Calzone, or Stromboli, and all sorts of other Italian delicacies with a simple dough recipe. Many of my friends have asked for this recipe over the years, and have had great success with it. So here is my favorite Italian dough recipe for the perfect Pizza, Calzone or anything else you wish to make with it. The only problem with this recipe is that it take a while for it to rise; 8-10 hours.

1 large or 2 small Pizza's, 2 Calzone's, or 2 Stromboli's

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) (use a yeast thermometer for accuracy)

2 teaspoons salt

4 1/2 cups bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 package)

1/2 teaspoon of sugar

1/4 cup bread flour, or more if needed

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

The key to making good dough is in the ingredients you use. Be sure to use fresh ingredients, specifically your yeast. Another trick is to add your 110 degree water with your sugar, yeast and 1/2 a cup of flour into a room temperature mixing bowl. Stir it well, cover it with a damp, clean dish cloth and leave it alone for about 20 minutes. Don't lift the towel during this time. Not to worry, it will be bubbling underneath that cloth, which means the yeast is being activated.

Now that the yeast has become alive we need to add the oil, salt and 2 cups of the flour to the mixture and mix it well. What you want is a consistency of elastic in your dough at this point. It should also be mixed together enough where you can grab it with your fingers, and turn it out onto a clean, floured surface.

Knead your dough for about 15 minutes, all the while adding the remaining flour a little at a time. You want a soft, elastic yet sticky dough. The idea here is to add the flour so the dough won't stick to the surface your working on.  Now that you're done kneading your dough, Take a clean, deep bowl and drizzle some of your olive oil into it, swirl it around, or use a paper towel to coat the inside of that bowl. Then form your dough into a ball and place it your oiled bowl. Drizzle a little of the excess oil over the top of your dough, cover again with a clean dish towel and place it in a warm place, not on the stove. You want the heat of the room to help you get that dough to rise properly. This should take about 2-3 hours. Once your dough has risen, punch down the middle of the dough, divide it in half, reshape into two balls and place each into a large plastic ziploc bag, then place the bags into the fridge overnight. The next day, remove from fridge, let stand in room for about an hour, then you can make your Pizza, Calzone, or Stromboli.  Enjoy!