Foolproof Thin Crust Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

5 1/4 cups of unbleached all purpose flour (more for dusting)

2 1/4 cups of warm water divided

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of sugar

Special Tools and equipment: Stand Mixer w/ dough hook.

Instructions:

Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/4 cup of warm water. let sit for 5-10 mins or until foamy. Meanwhile in the bowl of a stand mixer add flour and salt and combine with a fork until even. Attach bowl to stand mixer w/ a dough hook. on a slow setting slowly start to incorporate the water. then lastly add the yeast. once incorporated increase speed to medium and let it knead the dough for 5 mins. until nice and elastic. Dust your dough ball with flour and cover the bowl with flour towel or dish towel. let sit a minimum of 25 mins. Roll out thin and form unto a circle about 16 inches. . Double fold in edges to create outer crust. Finished dough should be 12-14 inches. Brush top and bottom with olive oil. Place on a cookie sheet or pizza pan. Bake for 5 mins at 500. Add whatever toppings you like, bake at 500 until cheese is golden and bubbly- 10-25 mins depending on thickness of toppings. Keep an eye on it as the thinner your toppings the faster it will cook.

Note: This will make a LOT of dough. Enough for 5-6 pizzas. I developed this recipe to make pizza for a crowed. We usually freeze half of the batch. It defrosts PERFECTLY! Just pop it in your fridge the night before you want to make pizza. Put it in a bag bigger than the size of the remaining dough because as it defrosts, it will grow.