Basic Pizza Dough

My always amazing and generous wife thought I would enjoy taking a pizza class at the Culinary Center of Kansas City. She was right. The class was taught by Chef Cody Hogan. If you live in KC, you know about Lidia's. Chef Hogan is Lidia's exceutive chef, and one very cool dude. He shared his favorite pizza dough recipe with us. I'll share it with you, but preface this by saying if you don't take the class, it won't be the same!

Pizza Dough

Based on the dough from

The Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook

Yield: enough dough for about 6 pizzas

Sponge Ingredients:

2 teaspoons dry yeast

3/4 cup lukewarm water

2/3 cup bread flour

Dry Ingredients:

4 cups unbleached white flour

1/4 cup rye flour, whole wheat flour or buckwheat flour

1teaspoon salt

1/3cup olive oil

To make the sponge:

Dissolve the yeast in 3/4 cup lukewarm water and stir in the 2/3 cup bread flour. Allow this mixture to sit until quite bubbly, about 30 minutes.

To make the dough:

Mix together the all-purpose flour, rye flour, and salt in another bowl.

Stir 1cup cold water and 1 cup of these dry ingredients into the sponge. Mix thoroughly and let sit for another 30 minutes.

Add the remaining dry ingredients and the olive oil and knead, by hand or in an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead until the dough is soft and elastic, about 5 minutes. It may be necessary to add more flour if the dough is too wet, but add only enough flour to form soft, slightly sticky dough. Very soft, moist dough makes the best crust.

Allow to rise until doubled; about 2 hours. If you have the time, this dough has more character if it is allowed to rise in the refrigerator overnight or at least for eight hours.

After the dough has doubled, fold it down and divide it into six pieces (or less for larger pizzas).Shape in to balls and allow to rest for about 1hour, covered, at room temperature. (This is a good place to freeze individually wrapped pieces of dough for future use. Allow to thaw thoroughly before using.) The dough can be rolled or stretched into the desired shape and thickness.