I got this recipe from my future brother-in-law’s father. After talking with Michael, we only used 1 packet of yeast.
From Pete:
This recipe is an adaptation from a pizza recipe we took from Romanogli’s Table receipe book when were at Fort Devens many years ago
I’ve tweaked it over the years to our taste
Basic receipe
1 Large Bowl – The dough will rise in here
5 cups UNBLEACHED all purpose Flour
2 Cups warm water
2 packets Yeast (Dry Yeast)
2 Teaspoon salt
EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) about 2 Tablespoons
Directions:
In the large bowl add the EVOO
On the table place the 5 Cups of Flour and make a small well in the middle – you will be slowly adding the yeast water in here
In the WARM (not HOT) water dissolve the yeast make the water about skin temp as anything hotter will kill the yeast
slowly pour some yeast water into the well of flour and using a fork mix the water and flour, add more water mix with the fork. As you mix with the fork make the well larger. When the water is all gone into the flour you’ll have a slurry type paste and more flour left.
Roll up your sleeves, flour your hands well and mix the remainng flour into the slurry by hand. As it starts to come together add the SALTS and continue kneading the dough with the heel of your hand, pushing away from you and rolling it back on top of itself
Keep kneading the dough until the flour is all gone. It should be smooth and not sticky you should be able to push your finger in it and it will slightly rebound. If the dough is sticky add more flour and continue kneading
Once you get the right consistency plop the ball of dough in the bowl and coat it the olive oil that should already be in the bottom
Put a dish cloth on top bowl and move it to a warm (not hot) place to rise – let rise for an hour – if you did nt kill the yeast with the warm water it should double in size
Once the rising is done knock down the dough and break off a piece and work it on to your pizza plate for cooking. Turn the plate and work the dough from the center out trying to keep the thickness consistent from center to edge. I use alot of different pans but for first timers a glass pyrex works best coated with non slick or crisco
The size you tear off will determine whether the pie is thin crust or thick crust
once you get it to size on the cooking platter splash some more olive oil on the dough and use your hands to coat the dough
Put on your toppings and cook at 400- 425 turning every 5 minutes till done to your likeness
