PIzza Dough

I made two pizzas last weekend when a group of us went to Saturna. We had them as an appetizer and everyone liked the dough. It didn't turn out as crunchy as real Italian pizza. Every time I have made home-made pizza dough this has been the case. I actually prefer it soft so I don't mind. I've been told that it is very difficult to make the dough crunchy without a brick oven. Baking the pizza at a high temperature ( 425 degrees) will make it a bit less soft.

The toppings I used for these two pizzas were varied. One half I kept simple and just had mozzarella (*if you can find it, soft buffalo mozzarella is amazing! They sell it Bosa in Vancouver), parmesan, and thin slices of tomato, the other pizza halves were a mixture of capers, prosciutto from Angelo's, carmelized onion, and different types of cheeses.

For the pizza dough I followed 'Jay's Signature Pizza Crust Recipe' from allrecipes.com:

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
3. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.
5. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.