Pizza Dough Recipe

Ingredients:

• Dough:
• 4 cups bread flour (See Cook's Tip)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp rapid-rising yeast
• 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 Tbsp Metropolitan Market Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus a few Tbsp for making the pizza
• Some Possible Toppings:
• 1 cup oil-roasted peppers in oil from Metropolitan Market Olive Bar, chopped
• 1 cup sun-dried tomato halves or quarters from Metropolitan Market Olive Bar
• 1/2 cup olives,well drained, from Metropolitan Market Olive bar
• 3 - 4 Tbsp grated, fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1 ball Metropolitan Market Hand-Stretched Mozzarella
• 2 cups fresh arugula
• 4 - 5 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade (thin strips)
• Metropolitan Market Aged Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

1. To make dough, combine 1 ½ cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl.  Heat 1 ¼ cups water and 3 Tbsp olive oil to very warm, 120° to 130° F.  Stir into flour mixture. Gradually stir in remaining flour to make a soft dough. The dough should be slightly sticky or tacky dough. If dough is dry and crumbly, add a couple of tablespoons of water.  Scrape dough out of bowl onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead dough for a minute or two, until dough forms a soft ball. Place dough in a clean, oiled bowl. Oil top of dough and cover bowl with plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until dough doubles in size, about 1 ½ hours.  (Or, chill dough overnight or up to 2 days. 
2. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400°F.
3. Brush a tablespoon or two of olive oil on a large, rimmed baking pan.(ours is 13” x 18” half sheet pan) (Line pan with parchment paper for easy clean-up.) Roll or pat and stretch dough to fit into pan. Brush a few tablespoons of the oil marinade from the peppers onto dough (Or brush on Metropolitan Market Olive Oil). Scatter peppers, tomatoes and olives on dough. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until edges and bottom of crust are golden brown. Remove from oven. Tear pieces of mozzarella cheese into pieces and scatter on dough. Return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes, until cheese melts. Remove from oven.
4. To serve pizza, sprinkle arugula and basil onto hot pizza. Drizzle with Balsamic. Cut into rectangles. Serve warm.