Ingredients

▢ 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast, 1 packet
▢ 1 ½ cups warm water, no more than 115 degrees F
▢ 1 tablespoon sugar
▢ 3 ½ to 4 cups all purpose flour
▢ 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, add warm water, sugar and yest. Let it proof for ten minutes, until yeast is foamy. Add olive oil, salt, and 3 ½ cup flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until dough starts coming together.
Flour your kneading surface well, then knead by hand for about 10 minutes, sprinkling flour onto surface and hands when needed. When your dough is ready, it should be smooth, not sticky, and when you poke it, it should rise back up slowly. If it doesn't, keep kneading.
Lightly coat a large mixing bowl with olive oil and shape dough into a ball. Place ball into the bowl and make sure to lightly cover all sides of the dough in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm area. I heat my oven up for a minute, turn it off and place the bowl in there usually. Sometimes I put it in my laundry room when my dryer is running. As long as the area is warm, it will rise.
Let your dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Punch the dough down, then divide the dough into two. Shape both halves into balls and let rest in separate bowls covered in plastic wrap for 25 minutes. You can freeze the dough at this point.
Preheat oven to 475 degrees F, we want our oven incredibly hot.
After resting, flatten dough on your baking sheet/pizza pan/pizza stone that has been sprayed with baking spray (or brushed lightly with oil) and dusted with flour. Cornmeal can be used in lieu of flour. Flatten dough to a thin crust, the shape doesn't need to be perfect.
To make a lip for the crust, you could fold the edge up and over a little and pinch or gently pinch up the edge to raise it up to create a lip. Let your dough rest again for 10 minutes (basically while the oven is preheating).
Top with your toppings and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove pizza from pan onto cutting board to slice and serve immediately. Leftover pizza can be stored in fridge and reheated.

Last step!Be sure to snap a pic and share on Instagram #sweetteaandthyme and tag me at @sweet_tea_thyme so we can all see!

Recipe Notes

To Freeze After the dough has risen and you have divided the dough into two balls, take the ball(s) you want to freeze and spray all over with nonstick spray then place into freezer-safe zip top bags and remove all the air. Freeze for up to three months. To thaw, put the frozen dough into the fridge over night or for 12 hours. When ready to make pizza, set on your countertop to rest for 45 minutes to an hour to come to room temp.