Homemade pizza is something that I try my hand at fairly frequently and although it's never bad, many times the dough isn't exactly where I want it to be. I suppose that I just hadn't found the ideal pizza dough recipe until I came across the Pan Pizza from The Grand Central Baking Book. It's really one of the best dough recipes I've tried in a while.
This dough is a thick-crusted base that can stand up to a lot of toppings, similar to a Sicilian-style. The dough has a lightness that belies its dense look, which comes from a technique that was new to me, at least as far as pizza is concerned—the pre-ferment.
Basically you mix yeast, water, and flour and let it sit for an hour. After it bubbles up into a starter, you mix it in with the rest of the ingredients for the dough, a little more yeast, olive oil, salt and flour. The dough is kneaded and left to rise again for another hour.