Homemade Pizza Dough

Place the yeast and sugar in a large bowl. Pour the water over them and whisk to combine. Make sure the water is between 100-110F. Let that sit for 2-10 minutes to activate the yeast. You'll know it's ready when it gets a bit bubbly and foamy on top.

Use a wooden spoon to stir in the 2 tbsp. of olive oil and half the bread flour. Once that incorporates a bit, add in the salt and remaining bread flour. Stir until you get it as combined as you can, in a loose ball, then lightly flour your hands and knead the dough together in the bowl a bit.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface (I just use my countertop). Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle more flour onto the work surface and your hands as needed, if the dough begins to stick. To see if you've kneaded enough, you can press two fingers gently into the dough. If the indentations stay after you move your fingers, then it's been kneaded enough and is ready for the next step.

Drizzle some olive oil into the bottom of a separate large bowl. Place the dough ball in and roll it around to evenly coat all the sides in the oil. Loosely cover the top of the dough with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 1 - 1 1/2 hours. It should be double in size once it's ready.

Preheat the oven to 450F. Lightly spray a 16" pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray and dust it lightly with cornmeal. Set aside.

The dough should have risen. Punch it gently to release some air, then turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Lightly dust a rolling pin with flour and gently roll out each side, keeping it in a nice rounded shape.

Once it looks Iike the right size for your pizza pan, carefully transfer it onto your prepared pan. I do this by folding half of the dough over itself, then sliding the pizza tray under that half. Once it's on, gently unfold the dough and use your fingers to gently stretch it to fill the pan.

Use a fork and poke some holes all across the dough. This should prevent any bubbles from forming.

Top with your desired toppings, leaving an inch or so of space around the edges for the crust.

Bake for 14-18 minutes, until the cheese and crust are nice and golden. Be sure to keep an eye on it towards the end.

Allow to cool 5 minutes, then slice and serve!