BASIC PIZZA DOUGH (1 pound, serving four)

The Gourmet Cookbook offers the following instructions for shaping pizza dough for baking: “Do not punch the dough down.  Carefully dredge dough in a bowl of flour to coat and transfer to a dry work surface.  Holding the edge of the dough in the air with both hands and letting the bottom touch the work surface, carefully move hands around the edge of dough (like turning a steering wheel), allowing weight of dough to stretch the round to roughly 8 inches.  Lay the dough flat on a lightly floured work surface and continue to work edges with your fingers, stretching it into a 14 inch round.”

1 cup warm water

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 teaspoon honey

2-1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

extra virgin olive oil

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1. Make the pizza dough: Add the honey and yeast to the warm water.  Stir to dissolve. Let the mixture sit for 3 minutes to make sure the yeast is alive; it should foam and start to bubble.

2. Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Add the yeast mixture and mix on low speed until the mixture starts to come together.  Turn the speed up to medium and mix for 8 minutes.  The dough should start to pull away from the sides but still remain soft and slightly sticky on the bottom of the bowl.  Add 1 extra tablespoon flour if needed.  Coat your hands with a bit of olive oil and form the dough into a ball.  Place the dough into a bowl that is coated in olive oil.  Cover with a towel and proof the dough in a warm place until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.

3. Knock down the dough and cut into 4 equal pieces if you are making small pizzas or simply reform into a ball to proof for an additional hour.  The dough is now ready to use.

4. Basic cooking instructions: roll the dough out on a floured surface to your desired thickness.  Transfer the dough to a baking sheet or pizza peel and top with your favorite toppings.  Bake at 500* for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown.  Drizzle the crust with extra olive oil if desired.  Serve hot.

5. For Giada’s festa della pizza: roll the dough out on a floured surface to your desired thickness.  Top dough with roughly ½ cup tomato passata, leaving ½ inch empty around the rim of the crust.  Sprinkle with roughly 4 to 6 ounces fresh mozzarella or ¾ cup shredded mozzarella.  Evenly sprinkle with ¾ teaspoon spicy seasoned salt, including the crust.  Drizzle evenly with 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes until the crust is golden brown on the edges.

from Giada de Laurentiis