Herbed Pizza Dough

Directions

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   1.
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   In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
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   Be sure its not too hot or youll kill the yeast.
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   Swish it around in the water with a fork and wait for it to start foaming, about 5 to 10 minutes.
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   2.
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   To the dissolved yeast, add salt, sugar, olive oil, the herbs, and 2 cups of flour.
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   Mix by hand or with an electric or stand mixer until the flour is well incorporated.
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   3.
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   Next, add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well between each addition, until the dough is the right consistency.
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    Whats the right consistency?
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    Im glad you asked!
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    You want your dough to be moist and sticky, but not too sticky that you cant work with it.
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    And definitely not too dry that its flaky and the flour isnt mixing well.
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    If you find your dough in this dry state, add some more water a teaspoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.
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    If its too sticky, add more flour.
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    I find about 3 cups of flour to be the perfect amount.
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    4.
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    If you dont have a stand mixer with a dough hook, lightly flour a good surface to knead your dough on and knead away!
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    If you have a stand mixer, replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook and knead on low to medium-low speed for 5 to 10 minutes.
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    The trick is knowing when its ready.
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    Your dough should be smooth and elastic, and I suggest trying the window pane test to check: remove a small portion of the dough, thin it out, and stretch it slowly.
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    If its ready, the stretched part of the dough should be very thin and translucent.
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    If it just tears when you stretch, its not ready.
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    5.
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    When the dough is ready, place back in the bowl.
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    Pour a small amount of olive oil in the bowl and coat the dough.
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    Place a piece of plastic wrap over the dough, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
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    6.
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    Punch down the dough and place on a lightly floured surface.
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    This amount of dough can either make 2 thin pizzas or 1 thick pizza, both medium-size.
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    Divide the dough in half if youre making 2.
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    Using a rolling pin or a pastry roller, shape into the sized pizza you want.
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    If you find that the dough is retreating whenever you roll out a section and not holding its shape or size, let the dough sit for a few minutes to simmer down, then resume.
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    7.
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    Now, get out your pizza pan.
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    Flour it, and place large piece of parchment paper on it.
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    Then, place your shaped dough on top of the parchment paper.
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    With the dough in place, build your pizza.
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    8.
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    Bake at 475 for 6-10 minutes.
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    It really depends on how thick your pizza is, so just keep an eye on it.
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    Remove and consume.
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    *To up the delicious factor on your crust, right before you put it in the oven, use a pastry brush to brush olive oil around the entire edge of the pizza and then sprinkle with sea salt.
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    *