I have made many pizzas over the years in many different styles, but there is always more to learn so I bought an on-demand pizza class from King Arthur Flour. The first pizza made in this course is a pizza which only takes a couple of hours end-to-end, so it is doable on a weeknight. Mostly what I learned on this course were some tricks on how to get a nice round shape with a a raised crust. It turned out very well considering the relatively short rising period. This makes one 12-inch pizza, which is enough for 2-3 people.
For the Pizza
240 g. (2 cups) King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
Scant tsp. salt
½ tsp. yeast
151 g. (2/3 cup) lukewarm water
1 Tbs. olive oil
½ cup Zesty Pizza Sauce
Shredded whole milk mozzarella
Topping(s) of your choice (I used pepperoni and pickled banana peppers)
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour and put the yeast there. Add the water to the well and wait a minute to hydrate the yeast. Add the olive oil. Mix everything into a shaggy dough with a dough whisk or spoon.
Lightly dust a work surface. Knead the dough by pressing, stretching, and folding the dough for about 5 minutes, by which time it should be smooth. Put it in a doubling container and coat the surfaces with a little olive oil. Cover and allow to ferment until doubled, about 1.5-2 hours.
About 45 minutes before the dough is done, put a baking stone or steel on a rack in the middle of the oven and heat it to the highest temperature your oven has (500-550 degrees).
When the dough is doubled, gently turn it out of the doubling container onto a well-floured work surface, taking care not to degas the dough or to distort its circular shape. With floured fingertips, press the center of the dough circle out, taking care not to press on the rim. Work quickly to minimize the risk that the dough will stick to the work surface. After the dough is around 9 inches in diameter, further stretch it to 12 inches in diameter by draping it over one or both of your hands. When about the right size, put it on a sheet of baking parchment and even up the edge into a nice circle with your hands. Trim the parchment to just bigger than the pizza to reduce the risk of any of the parchment burning in the oven.
Sauce the pizza with about ½ cup of pizza sauce. Cover with mozzarella and then with toppings of your choice. Remember that pizza is fundamentally flavored bread, so do not overdo the toppings.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling. Cut into pieces and serve immediately.