Recipe: Pizza Dough (using KitchenAid mixer) and Herbed Pizza Crust

Pizza Dough
rec.food.recipes/Debbie Casey/1998
Yield: one 12-16-inch crust

Ideal for KitchenAid mixer, but can be made by hand easily.

2 cup bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp gluten flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast (I use rapid-rise)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup lukewarm water
6 Tbsp. olive oil (approximately)
Desired pizza toppings

With standard mixing attachment, thoroughly combine all dry ingredients except yeast into large mixing bowl. Add yeast and combine thoroughly.

Add water and olive oil; mix only until dough starts to form a ball and mixer begins to labor a bit -- approximately 10-20 seconds. Attach dough hook to mixer and knead dough for approximately 7-9 minutes.

Remove dough to greased glass container; cover loosely with tea towel or plastic wrap. Set in a warm, draft-free location until doubled in bulk; punch down. You may repeat for a second rising, but it is not necessary for pizza dough.

Preheat oven to 500F for a minimum of 20 minutes (if using bread stone, preheat for at least 30 minutes to allow bread stone to reach proper temperature).

Punch down dough and shape into a ball; let rest for 10-20 minutes.

Roll out to desired thickness to fit pan, or to size desired. Ensure that the outer edges of dough are slightly thicker so that toppings do not drip off during baking. Brush dough all over with olive oil. Cover loosely with tea towel or plastic wrap; place in warm, draft-free location until dough has risen slightly (about 20-25 minutes).

Turn heat down to 425 (or 375 if using convection); immediately uncover dough and place into oven for 10 minutes.

Remove dough from oven; place toppings on pizza. Place pizza back into oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until toppings start to bubble and edge of crust begins to brown slightly. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

VARIATION #1:
To make a nice herbed pizza crust, add dried or fresh herbs along with the dry ingredients when mixing. These might include herbs such as basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and sage in the quantities that you like best. Alternately, you may wish to use an Italian herb mix which already contains various herbs. If the mix includes salt be sure to reduce the amount of salt you add in the recipe, perhaps cutting it in half.

VARIATION #2:
Pizza doesn't have to be round like many of the pies you see in restaurants! If you don't have a round pizza pan, just press the dough into a square jelly roll pan. For a deep-dish pizza, you may even want to use a 9x13 brownie pan. Using a square pan makes it easier to cut into even-sized squares when it's finished baking.