Ingredients

makes enough dough for four 12-inch Margherita pizzas, two 8-inch square Sicilian pizzas, or fifteen 4-inch calzones

　　1 teaspoon active dry yeast

　　1 cup warm water

　　3 cups all-purpose flour, and more as needed

　　1 1/2 teaspoons salt

　　Olive oil

　　

Step 1

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a medium bowl and let stand until dissolved.

　　

Step 2

Toss the flour and salt together and stir into the dissolved yeast, using a wooden spoon or your fingers, until you have a stiff dough.

　　

Step 3

Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead 5 to 10 minutes, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn the dough to coat all sides with oil, and cover with a damp cloth. Set the bowl in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.

　　

Step 4

Punch down the dough and, if necessary, divide into the number of portions called for in the recipe. Place the dough balls on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed directly against the dough. Refrigerate until the dough is roughly doubled in bulk. This can take from 12 to 24 hours. Punch down the dough and continue with the recipe.

　　From Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Copyright © 2001 by A La Carte Communications and Tutti a Tavola, LLC. Published by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.Buy the full book from Amazon.