Easy Homemade Pizza Dough

I've seen recipes for "no-knead" easy breads and pizza doughs for awhile but have been hesitant to try them. My wariness is mostly because I get nervous cooking with dry active yeast and am worried it won't rise properly (this happened to me once when I tried to make doughnuts in high school and I haven't trusted yeast since). Thankfully, I worked up the nerve to try out Smitten Kitchen's easy overnight pizza dough (found in the cookbook, but based on this recipe) and will never go back to buying store-bought dough again. All you need is water, flour, salt, yeast, and time. I made the dough the night before (it only takes five minutes!), kept it in a bowl in the fridge overnight, and then left it out at room temperature while I was at work. When I got home, all I had to do was roll out the dough, sprinkle on the toppings, and bake for 15 minutes. It's quicker than ordering delivery and so much better.

Easy Homemade Pizza Dough:

• In a large bowl, combine 1/2 tsp. dry active yeast with 1/2 c. warm water.*
• Let mixture sit for 5 minutes, or until bubbles/foam form at the top of the water.
• Stir in 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour** and 1 tsp. kosher salt until combined.
• Dump dough out on a floured surface and knead for a few minutes, or until a smooth ball forms.
• Wipe out the bowl with a paper towel and lightly grease it with olive oil.
• Place the dough in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge overnight.***
• Take the dough out to room temperature and let sit for at least an hour.
• Roll out the dough on a floured surface, sprinkle with toppings, and bake in a 450F until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Serves two-four

*Water should be slightly warmer than room temperature (110-115F). If it's too hot or too cold, the yeast will not activate.

**You can use a combination of half all-purpose and half whole-wheat flour if you prefer.

***Or for at least 8 hours.