2 large, 4 medium or 8 small pies

1 ¾ cups water divided, ½ cup warm, remaining at tap temperature

1 tbsp. dry active yeast (or 1 envelope) ( *Or 2 tbsp. if time is short)

2 tbsp. olive oil

4 cups flour

1 ½ tsp. salt

Olive oil

Semolina

INSTRUCTIONS:

Measure 1/2 cup of warm water into 2-cup measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast; let stand until yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Place into your mixing bowl. Add remaining remaining 1 1/4 cups tap water and olive oil.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, and using dough hook, add 3 ½ cups flour to the liquid. Mix till homogeneous. Continue to add as much of the flour as you can mixing for approximately 5 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth or clear wrap and let rise till double. Depending on how much yeast you used, *the time will vary from half an hour to an hour.

After it has doubled, punch down completely and separate in half, before starting to form your pizza shape, let it rest 5-10 minutes for it to be more malleable.

Preheat your even to 500° F. If using a pizza stone, the pizza stone must be in the oven for at least half an hour.

Use semolina on your pizza pan for a nice crunch on the bottom and prevent sticking.

Cooking times vary according to size and thickness of dough.

For a medium thickness. Bake for 15 minutes, for thin crust, bake for 10. Start checking your dough after 8 minutes.