Easy and Fast Pizza Dough to Make at Home and it Keeps for Days in the Refrigerator

This recipe yields 2 pizzas made in a half sheet pan.

When the boys were home I made up and froze pizzas all of the time.  When I was growing up pizza parlors were not on every corner as they are today!  In fact the only pizza I ever had until I was probably a senior in high school was a make at home with a Chef Boyardee boxed mix.  That was a popular thing to do in those days.  Two couples would get together at some one's home and make pizza from the Chef's mix adding our own special touches!  They were good too!  The secret was to pre-bake the crust maybe 15 minutes or so before adding a multitude of additional toppings. 

Then the other day I saw Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) making pizza for her family and I got a yen to make pizza too.  So I have adapted her recipe for the pizza crust.  I especially like this version because it keeps in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.  That makes it very handy indeed.

Make the dough up with the mixer.

Ingredients for Pizza Dough:

1 1/2 C warm, not lukewarm water
1 t. instant yeast
1/3 C. olive oil + more for oiling the bowl
4 C. flour
1 t. kosher salt

Place the warm water in a bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top.  Leave it sitting undisturbed and place the flour and salt into the mixing bowl.  Using the paddle attachment give the flour a few whirls at the lowest speed.

Oil an additional large bowl well.

Pour the oil into the water and yeast and stir well.  With the paddle attachment running on low speed  drizzle the liquid  into the flour mixture until it forms a sticky ball of dough.  Oil your hands and form into a ball and place it in the prepared bowl turning once until coated lightly. 

Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. to preheat about 20 minutes before baking.

I intentionally made up the dough days in advance to see how it kept and how it would handle.  So, on the 3rd day I pulled it out.  divided it in half,  rolled it on a floured board, flipped it onto a buttered half sheet pan and using a regular unopened can of black olives, and rolled it to fit.  I partially baked the crust for 7 minutes and removed it from the oven.

Use your own home made pizza sauce, store bought pizza sauce, or marinara sauce.  I used about 3/4 C. of Ragu spaghetti sauce as the is what I keep on hand because my husband prefers it over anything else.  Spread the sauce evenly over the partly baked crust and add any other ingredients you like.  I used about a forth of a pound of ground chuck I had cooked and drained, a cup of sliced green olives, a cup of sliced pepperoni, and a pound or so of shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes until the crust has browned and the cheese has melted and is bubbly.

Cool 5-8 minutes before cutting.  Makes 6 large slices or 8 medium slices.  Delicious!

Note:   I plan to shape and partially bake the second crust and freeze it for another day.  I only planned to keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.