Sarah's November Recipe Selection: Pizza Dough

It's a pizza party!

From the July 20 - 27, 2009 edition of New York Magazine.

DIY Pie (Yields 3 10-inch crusts):

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cup water

To make the dough: In a large bowl, mix the flour, yeast, and salt. Add water and stir until blended (the dough will be very sticky). Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 12 to 24 hours in a warm spot, about 70 degrees.

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle the top with flour. Fold the dough over on itself once or twice, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes.

Shape the dough into 3 or 4 balls, depending on how think you want the crust. Generously sprinkle a clean cotton towel with flour and cover the dough with it. Let the dough rise for 2 hours.

Place pizza stone (or turn over a basic roasting pan) on the middle rack of the oven and preheat on high broil. Stretch or toss the dough into a disk approximately 10 inches in diameter. Pull rack out of oven and place the dough on top of the preheated stone (or pan). Drizzle 5 tablespoons of sauce over the dough, and spread evenly. Try to keep the sauce about 1/2 inch away from the perimeter of the dough. Cover with toppings of your choice and bake for approximately six minutes. (The recipe says you can broil the pizza, and I am curious to see if this will work, or if the oven will need to be on bake mode?)