Starter:
1 envelope (or 2.5 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 can warm beer (needs to be right at 110 degrees - very important and it needs to be a lager or a light ale) - if you don't want beer, use 1.5 C water at the same temp.
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
.5 C flour (unbleached, all-purpose)
1 T salt
3-4 C flour will be needed later
For those of you that have a big, stand up kitchenaide mixer, this is one of those glorious times where it's used to it's fullest. Pull that sucker out and grab the weird hook piece that looks like it's from Peter Pan.
Pour warm beer into the mixing bowl on the mixer, then pour in the yeast. Let the yeast activate for about 4 min, or until it starts to dissolve and fizz. Add the next 3 ingredients (olive oil, flour and salt) and mix until combined. Then add the rest of the flour (3-4 Cups) at .5 cups at a time, all the while keeping your mixer cruising at low setting (3 or 4 should do).
Form the dough into a ball and put into a lightly olive-oiled bowl and turn it to coat it with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until it's doubled in size (about 1 hr). (Optional:Once it's risen, divide into smaller balls and place on a flat surface, cover in town again and let rise again for another 30 min. This will make it more fluffy.)
Now you're ready to make your pizza! Roll out dough flat on a lightly floured baking sheet. This dough make a better thin crust than fluffy. (For a crispy pizza, pre-bake dough for about 5 min on 450.) Assemble pizza with toppings of your choosing, and yes you can make it right on the uncooked dough if you'd rather. Bake at 450 until crunchy, or until cheese is starting to brown. Eat!
I recommend homemade sauce which I will post later, but various marinaras work great, as well as vodka pasta sauce. Also, instead of the standard mozzarella cheese, try an asiago-parmesan blend. Yum!
**This recipe is adapted from a William-Sonoma cookbook recipe. Just in case we are checked for copyright infringement.
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