Spur-of-the-Moment Pizza Dough Recipe from Giada

For years, I have consistently used the same pizza dough recipe, which requires at least an overnight (18 - 24 hour) rise in the fridge.  Unfortunately, this means I must plan at least a day in advance if I want to make a homemade pizza.  Although the flavor of this standard pizza dough recipe is excellent (one of the best I've ever had), I have really wanted the flexibility to make a customized, hot pizza the day I want to eat it. 

So to the Internet I went -- unfortunately I bypassed my cookbooks this time.  I found an Epicurious.com recipe by Giada DeLaurentiis, which only requires a one hour rise.  It calls for a full quarter-ounce packet of active dry yeast for one pizza dough ball instead of the one teaspoon for the two full pizza dough balls made with the original, overnight rise recipe I use.  I tried this new recipe during a recent weekday evening, and was surprised at how easy and fast it was to make.  I let the dough rise in a warm area for one hour, as called for by the recipe, and it seemed like it almost tripled in size instead of doubled.  This didn't seem to have an effect on the result though.

 

I baked the crust at 550 degrees for approximately 4 - 5 minutes, before adding the sauce and toppings and baking for another 3 minutes until the cheese was melted and bubbly.  The crust itself was relatively flavorful and had an almost cracker-like consistency.  I may substitute bread flour and whole wheat flour for the all-purpose to experiment with flavor and texture of the crust, but look forward to using it further when I feel an immediate craving for pizza!