Pizza Crust

Everyone seems to have a pizza crust recipe.  This is a great recipe for 2 pizza crusts.  One pizza heartily serves 3-4 people, so I make dough in the morning then refrigerate 1/2 and freeze 1/2.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp sugar -- I use regular granulated sugar
2 tsp dried yeast or 1/2 oz fresh yeast
7 fl oz (split) lukewarm water
3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp olive oil
cornmeal

1. Put the sugar and yeast in a small bowl and stir in 3 fl oz of water.  Leave in a draught-free spot to activate.  If the yeast does not bubble and foam in 5 minutes, discard it and start again.
2. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl or in a food processor fitted with a plastic blade.  Add the olive oil, remaining water and the yeast mixture.  Mix until the dough loosely clumps together.  Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 minutes, adding a little flour of a few drops of warm water if necessary, until you have a soft dough that is not sticky but is dry to the touch.
3. Rub the inside of a large bowl with olive oil.  Roll the ball of dough around in a bowl to coat it with oil, then cut a shallow cross on the top of the ball with a sharp knife.  Leave the dough in the bowl, cover with a tea towel or put in a plastic bag and leave in a draught-free spot for 1-1 1/2 hours until doubled in size (or leave in the fridge for 8 hours to rise slowly).  I preheat my gas oven to 170 then turn it off and put the bowl (uncovered) in my warm oven to let the dough rise quickly on these cold, winter days.  In the summer, I plan on placing the covered bowl outside to let it rise in the warm air.
4. Punch down the dough to its original size, then divide into two portions.  (At this stage the dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 hours, or frozen.  Bring back to room temperature before continuing).
5. Working with one portion at a time, push the dough out to make a thick circle.  Use the heels of your hands and work from the center off the circle outwards, to flatten the dough into a 12 inch circle with a slightly raised rim.  This is the time that I act as if I have a handlebar mustache and sing every Italian song in the book for my son.  (If you find it difficult to push the dough out by hand you can use a rolling pin.)  The pizza dough is now ready to use, as instructed in the recipe.  Cook on a lightly oiled tray, dusted with cornmeal, and get it into the oven as quickly as possible.

Recipe taken from
Braimbridge, S. & Glynn, J. (2002.) The food of Italy: A journey for food lovers. Whitecap Books: British Columbia, Canada.