It's not often that we have pizza at our house. But, we have a wood-fired oven in our backyard that was crying out for use and several hungry family members. We ended up making 4 pizzas, some cheese free (for my husband) and others with cheese. Other toppings were sautéed eggplant, balsamic zucchini and squash, sausage, roasted garlic, and peppers. All of this featured on homemade pizza dough. I used Tyler Florence's recipe which turned out nicely. Unfortunately the second batch of the dough killed the motor of my KitchenAid stand mixer. So, be cautious of this rather large recipe of dough!

Pizza Dough

makes 2-3 pizzas

Ingredients

2 packages active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees F.)
2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for bowl

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water and stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, 5 to 10 minutes.

If you're using a stand mixer, combine the salt and flour to the bowl and pulse a few times to mix. Add the yeast mixture, at the lowest speed, until the flour incorporates. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough gathers into a ball. This should take about 2 minutes. Add the olive oil and pulse a few more times. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough as you're making it by squeezing a small amount together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water, if it's sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead the dough for 6-8 more minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times, kneading until it's smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a round and put it into a lightly oiled bowl, turning it over to coat the dough entirely with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e., over a gas pilot light) until it doubles in size, about 1 hour. The dough can be cut into 2 or 3 pieces depending on desired size of the pizza. Let rest for 15 to 30 minutes before rolling out into pizza dough.