Easy Pizza Dough

Ah, pizza dough.

I love making my own pizza dough. Its fun and it can give you a semi-work out for the upper body. I love the smell of the dough while it rises. You can use it to make your traditional round pizza, calzones, bread sticks, strombolis, or desserts empanadas. Be creative! I love making my own calzones. I usually fill it with ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and spinach. You can also put any kind of meat in it as well.

In my opinion, the hardest part of making pizza dough is mainly the waiting time. The waiting time for the dough to rise is usually 1 hour. The dough can be made in advance and store in the refrigerator overnight. Leaving the dough overnight in the refrigerator will rise the dough even more. If it is made in advance then you must bring the dough to room temperature before using. Knead the dough, about 4 times, after it reach room temperature.
You can also purchase pre-made dough at your local grocery stores.
Tip: If you don't have a wired whisk, you can use a fork in place of the wire whisk. The recipe also calls to brush olive oil on top of the dough before letting it rise, I use olive oil cooking spray since its easier and less of a hassle.
If you refrigerated your yeast and/or flour, bring it to room temperature before starting to mix.

Kneading is very easy, instructions are given below.

1 cup warm water
1 packet active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey, optional
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon olive oil - to brush on dough
1. In a large bowl, add the water and whisk in the yeast and honey until dissolved. Set aside for a couple of minutes.

2. While you let the yeast sit, sift the flour and salt together.

3. Add the tablespoon of oil in the yeast mixture. Slowly whisk in the flour and salt to the yeast mixture. Use your hand if the mixture is too thick to mix.

4. Lightly flour a clean smooth surface, transfer the dough on the surface and knead for approximately 5 minutes.

5. Shape the dough into a ball and place it back in the large bowl. Brush the top of the dough lightly with olive oil and cover the bowl with a towel.

6. Place the bowl in a warm area for about 1 hour so the dough can rise. By the time you lift the covers, the dough should be double in size. (You may use the dough after the 1 hour wait period or store it in the fridge overnight.)

How to knead:
After turning the dough on a floured surface and lightly dusting your hands, this will prevent the dough from sticking to your hand. Fold the dough in half and press forward gently with the heel of your hand. Rotate the dough and fold the dough in half and press forward again. Repeat the rotating, folding, and pressing for 5 minutes.
The longer you knead the firmer the dough will become. Don't be too aggressive with the dough.
Don't worry that you aren't kneading correctly. Everyone has different techniques regarding kneading.