Alton Brown's 24 Hour Pizza Dough

The first thing I had to make with my new mixer was pizza dough.  And just to step it up a notch, I made Alton Brown's recipe.  He lets the dough rise in the fridge for 24 hours before making the pizza.  It's a pretty basic dough, and I did modify his recipe a tiny bit.  So here goes...

What you'll need:

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 3/4 cups bread flour (Winco had both white and wheat in bulk)
• 1/4 cup gluten flour (again Winco bulk.  This was my change from his recipe.  He used 2 cups of the bread flour.  I read somewhere tp use a small amount of gluten flour for chewier crusts)
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Place all ingredients minus 2 teaspoons olive oil into your mixer and use the paddle attachment to mix until combined and forms into a loose ball.  Switch to the hook and knead for 15 minutes.  Do the "window" test by tearing off a small piece of dough and form in into a disk.  Stretch the disk until thin to so it is taunt, it if tears before you can almost see through the membrane, knead for another 5-10 minutes.  

Roll dough into a smooth ball and place into a stainless steel or glass bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the bowl and toss ball to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours.

After the rise period, remove dough from fridge and split with a knife or dough scraper into two equal pieces (about 4 slices) or leave whole (for about 8 slices).  Slightly dampen counter top with water and roll dough on counter until it tightens into a ball.  Place back into bowl and cover with a kitchen towel.  Let rest for 30 minutes.  Do the same process with other half of dough if you split.  Spray the inside of a ziplock bag with cooking spray and refrigerate for up to 6 days or freeze for a month.

Put your oven rack on its lowest setting and place pizza stone into it.  Turn up oven to its highest setting.  I put mine at 450 because it gets CRAZY hot.  Flour a wooden cutting board or a peel if you have one.  Stretch your dough on the floured surface into a disc rotating after each stretch.  If dough keeps wanting to shrink back, let rest a few more minutes to warm up to room temp.  Brush the rim or curst of dough with olive oil and add whatever toppings you like.  Carefully slide pizza onto stone and bake for 6-7 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

I officially don't need to go out for pizza anymore.  This, as far and my pizza tastes are concerned, is the perfect crust.  Chewy, soft, slightly crispy.  If you are coming over to my house sometime in the next 6 months for dinner, I can guarantee you that I will be cooking pizza for you.  Enjoy!