Awesome Pizza Dough (My Method)

Pizza Dough Ingredients: (Makes 5-6 Large Pizzas)

3 teaspoons or 15grams of dry yeast
1 tablespoon(ish) brown sugar
650 ml lukewarm water (should feel "neutral" to touch)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 kilo of 00 Flour
1 tablespoon sea salt (ground)
Extra flour
Beer/s

Method:

1. Open the beer and test to make sure it's cold and frothy.
1. a) Mix the yeast and the sugar in a bowl and then add the water. Stir briefly until the yeast and sugar are dissolved.
2. Check beer again, if it becomes warm or empty replace with another beer.
2. a) Let the yeast/sugar mix stand for 10 minutes (should go frothy on top, don't get it mixed up with the beer, they don't taste the same).
3. If you're a purist you can sift the Flour and Salt into a large bowl, or if you're like me chuck it all in and stir it up so that any 'clumps' are completely broken down, and the salt is throughout the mixture. Make sure you leave a "well" in the middle of the flour in the bowl to pour the yeast mix in soon.
3. a) Check beer (don't let it get warm), make sure your favorite musical selection is playing at an appropriate volume. This may not seem important, but you should be about to get two tracks in before the yeast mix is ready.
4. Add the Olive oil to the yeast/sugar mix, stir briefly (oil and water don't mix so don't try too hard).
5. If you haven't finished it already, finish the open beer because you're about to get your hands 'dirty'. Open another beer before proceeding further.

5. a) Prepare your workspace, generously dust a large flat board or cleaned part of the bench with flour, grab a teatowel so you can dry your hands if they get wet.
5. b) Have a swig of your beer, you won't be able to touch it for a little while.
5. c) Using a wooden spoon, fork, or broad flat blade, rotate the bowl with one hand, while 'calving' the walls of the well into the yeast mix. Continue calving and mixing until it's necessary to use your hands (make sure your hands are dry, and coated with flour when you begin) to mix the liquid/flour in the bowl.
6. When the dough is solid enough to knead, use the work area you prepared earlier to press, fold and stretch the dough until you can hold it on two sides and let the weight of it stretch the dough as it droops (should not break, you should be able to let it bounce in the middle and see it stretch out a bit each time.)
7. Once kneading is finished it's time to let it stand. Place the pizza dough on a tray, covered with a teatowel for about 30 minutes (depending on temperature). The pizza dough will rise to about twice the size during this time.
7. a) Check beer, change CD if necessary. Clean up a bit, prepare work area again with a generous dusting of flour.

7. b) Grab a good handful of your pizza dough, break it off the log. Roll into a ball then punch it down into a circular mass, using a rolling pin flatten the dough into a circular pad the size of your pizza tray or a little larger (you can trim off any excess). You can get fancy if you wish, make sure your hands are floured and drape the dough over your fist and oscilate your hand so the weight of the dough stretches the dough out from the middle, you can also toss the dough in the air and spin it to make it a little more round. With practice you will be able to get the dough the shape of the pizza tray fairly quickly.
7. c) Spread the Pizza dough onto the pizza tray. Be careful not to tear the dough, it will only stretch so far.
8. a) Check beer, replace as necessary.
8. b) Turn on your oven to about 200C (390F), make sure the oven is EMPTY.
9. a) Apply your favorite tomato paste or salsa to the base, get as close to the edges as you dare. Apply the first layer of mozarella cheese, then add toppings to your taste. Add extra cheese to the top of the pizza. It's now ready for the oven.

9. b) Check beer.
9. c) Turn oven down to 180C (350F), place pizza/s in oven. For a crusty base place it on the bottom shelf. If you have a lot of topping put it higher in the oven.
10. Check beer. Wait at least 7 minutes and check the pizza/s. Nobody likes black cheese, so you may have to move the pizza to a lower shelf if the cheese is browning, using a flat blade lift the pizza base and check if the bottom of the base is browning. When the base and top are cooked remove the pizza from the oven and slice it up into six to eight pieces, grab a beer and enjoy!