Basic Pizza Dough

Based on the recipe in James Beard's Menus for Entertaining

1 cake or package of yeast (I use 1 Tablespoon Fermipan yeast - a good fast-acting, vacuum-dessicated yeast)
1 cup lukewarm water (can be hot but not scalding!)
1 teaspoon sugar (I use half this amount)
2 teaspoons salt (again, I use about half)
3 Tablespoons olive oil (I use 2 T maximum)
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour (will vary wildly depending on the weather, etc.)

Most recipes containing yeast call for the wet ingredients to be combined and the dry ingredients added. With a dry yeast like this, I start with the dry ingredients.

Put the sugar, salt, yeast and one cup of the flour in a large mixing bowl. If you're using just white flour, add a little gluten flour if you can - it will aid the dough's elasticity. Add the wet ingredients and mix to a batter. Add flour half a cup at a time until mixing becomes difficult. With me, that's quite early on - I add a lot of flour while kneading.

Turn the mixture out onto a floured work surface and begin to knead it, adding more flour as required. To knead you fold the dough and press with the heel of your hands repeatedly. I have never over kneaded a bread dough, so I say you should not be afraid to continue kneading a dough. When your dough is ready it should be smooth and satiny and almost not sticky at all. Be wary of adding too much flour and making the dough too dry - better for it to be a little too sticky. Make the dough into a ball and test it - jab it with your finger. If the indentation immediately begins to spring back, you're done.

Place the ball in a clean bowl wiped in about a tablespoon of olive oil and cover the bowl with glad wrap. Let the dough rise until it's double in size. This may be up to an hour, but I find it's often much less.

Knead the dough a bit to remove air bubbles and roll it out into your designated pizza tray. We just use oiled oven trays and make rectangular pizza for the most part - doesn't make a difference to the taste! Top with whatever you like. Bake in a hot oven - 400F or 200C - for about 25 minutes or until crust and cheese is browning nicely.