-
Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Combine all of the dough ingredients in a large bowl, stirring just to combine. The dough will be very loose and sticky, almost like cottage cheese in texture.
-
Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at cool room temperature (preferably not above 72°F) overnight, anywhere from 12 to 24 hours. (We prefer a rest of about 16 hours.) The dough will rise and develop lots of bubbles.
-
Heavily flour a silicone kneading mat or clean work surface, then pour/scoop the dough out of the bowl. Sprinkle more flour on top. Turn the dough over on itself a few times; a bowl scraper or spatula is a help here.
-
Preheat the oven to 450°F. If you have a pizza stone, place it on the middle shelf of the oven.
-
Divide the dough in half. Cut a sheet of parchment in half to make 2 pieces, each about 8" x 12".
-
Gently pat each piece of dough into an oval about 1/4" (or less) thick, right on the parchment. You may also choose to leave the dough in one piece, and pat it into a large (14" to 16") circle, but the larger size makes it more difficult to move around. If you're not using a pizza stone, slide the pizza crusts, with their parchment, onto a baking sheet.
-
Spray the crusts with water. Bake them in the preheated 450°F oven for about 12 minutes on a pizza stone, or about 16 minutes on a baking sheet. If the crusts puff up, prick them with a cake tester or toothpick. Remove them from the oven when they're just beginning to brown on top.
-
Add toppings. For this pizza crust recipe, the toppings should be pre-cooked; e.g., no raw meat, no crunchy onions, etc. We like to lay down a bed of cheese first, then toppings, then more cheese.
-
Bake for an additional 4 to 8 minutes, or until the toppings are hot and the cheese is melted.
-
Serve immediately.
-
Store any leftovers, well wrapped, in the refrigerator for a couple of days; freeze for longer storage.
