| 1 | Recipe by: evelyne slomon - the pizza book Pour the water into a medium-sized mixing bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. |
| 2 | Stir gently with a fork until the yeast has dissolved. |
| 3 | Add 1 cup of flour and the salt. |
| 4 | Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. |
| 5 | Add a second cup of flour and mix well. |
| 6 | After the second cup of flour has been mixed in, the dough will start coming away from the sides of the bowl and should begin to form a soft, sticky mass. |
| 7 | It is now ready to be kneaded. |
| 8 | Measure out the third cup of flour. |
| 9 | Sprinkle some over the work surface and flour your hands generously. |
| 10 | Remove all of the dough from the bowl and begin to work the mass by kneading the additional flour in a bit at a time. |
| 11 | Knead the dough until it no longer feels sticky. |
| 12 | Continue kneading only until the dough is smooth and elastic and no lines of raw white flour show. |
| 13 | The whole process should take 5 to 10 minutes. |
| 14 | Lightly oil a 2-quart bowl with vegetable oil. |
| 15 | Roll the ball of dough around in the bowl to coat it with a thin film of oil. |
| 16 | Tightly seal the bowl with plastic wrap. |
| 17 | Place the bowl in a warm draft-free place. |
| 18 | When the dough has doubled in bulk (45 to 60 minutes), punch it down, knead it for 2 to 3 minutes. |
| 19 | Then return it to the bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes before shaping. |
| 20 | The dough should never be rolled out with a rolling pin. |
| 21 | This crushes the edges and affects the final texture. |
| 22 | The stretching method is the only suitable way to shape the dough. |
