Piece of Pizza Pie Herb Garden: Master Recipe for Pizza/Focaccia Dough

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Serves 6 to 10 as an appetizer or 4 to 6 as a main course

This recipe can be made into 6 pizzettas about 6 inches in diameter, 4 pizzas 8 to 9 inches in diameter, 2 pizzas 12 to 14 inches in diameter, 1 thick-crust pizza about 12 by 15 inches, or 1 focaccia about 10 by 12 inches.

By using as much as ½ cup of a different flour in addition to white flour, you can produce many pleasant variations in your pizza dough. Whole wheat flour gives the crust a nice color and wheaty taste. You can use up to 2 cups for a chewy, hearty crust. Rye flour lends a slight tang, good with toppings of Taleggio or Fontina cheese and smoked salmon. Cornmeal makes a rather heavier crust with an earthy corn flavor that goes well with spicy toppings such as fresh chiles or hot sausages.

• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 ½ cups warm water
• 3 ½ cups unbleached white flour
• ½ cup whole wheat bread flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Mixing and kneading the dough

1. Stir the yeast into ¼ cup water. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, mix the flours together in a bowl, mixer with bread hook or food processor. To mix the dough by hand, make a well in the flour. Stir the yeasty water into the well, then gradually add the remaining water while incorporating the flour. Add the olive oil and salt. Stir the dough vigorously to incorporate as much flour as possible, then turn the dough onto a board. Gather and knead it, adding a little more flour if necessary, for 5 minutes, or until it is smooth and lively.
3. If using a mixer, stir the flours in the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer to the lowest setting and gradually add the yeasty water. With the mixer running, add the remaining water, olive oil and salt. After about 2 minutes, the dough will be clinging together in a rough mass. Stop the mixer and fit it with the dough hook. Knead the dough at the lowest setting for 5 to 7 minutes. All the flour should be incorporated and the dough should be smooth and lively.
4. At this stage, I always turn the dough out on a floured board and knead it by hand for at least 30 seconds to feel how responsive it is. The texture, strength and resiliency of your dough affect the time needed for rising, punching down, resting, and baking. If it is sticky, I knead in more flour, a tablespoon at a time.
5. To make the dough in a food processor, place the flours in the work bowl and pulse with the steel blade to mix. With the machine on, pour the yeasty water through the feed tube, then add the remaining water over 20 seconds. Add the olive oil and salt through the feed tube and process for 10 seconds. Turn the dough onto a floured board. If it is sticky, sprinkle it with a little ­unbleached white flour. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, or until it is smooth and lively.

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