Pizza Dough
Ingredients for the Dough:
3/4 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp organic cane sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions:
Stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes - it should become foamy.
Stir in oil and salt.
Mix in ½ cup flour at a time.
Knead (using your hands or a dough hook in a stand mixer) until it forms a cohesive ball. It will still be a little sticky but you should be able to pick it up as one piece. If it's far too sticky, add 1-2 more tablespoons of flour at a time until it comes together.
Continue to knead for 5 minutes.
Place the ball of dough into a large greased bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm location for 1 hour or until doubled in size. I let my dough rise in the oven with JUST the oven light on.
Remove the dough and pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Punch the dough down and knead a couple of times until it becomes smooth and more firm. At this point, you can store the fridge in the freezer until later or even better... make a pizza!
For Making Pizza:
Roll out the dough on a floured surface. Use your pizza pan for size reference (this recipe makes one 12-inch thick-crust pizza.)
Sprinkle the pizza pan with a pinch or two of flour and transfer the dough onto the pan. Work the dough to fit the edges.
Brush the dough with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil (this helps the top of the dough stay moist and not overcook.)
Poke the dough all over with a fork - this will prevent the dough from puffing up.
Pre-bake the dough for 5-7 minutes or until the bottom is just barely beginning to brown. At this point, the pizza should be able to lift out of the pan with a spatula.
Remove from the oven, brush the crust with 1-2 tablespoons of melted vegan butter, and add your toppings.
Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the toppings are cooked through.