Pizza Dough *for the freezer

    Sharing with you an easy recipe.  I consider this a kitchen 'short-cut' as well.  Instead of making pizza dough as needed - why not make enough for 4 pizzas all at one time and freeze them.  All you do is grab a frozen dough ball the morning of when you want to make your pizza for dinner and place in your fridge to 'defrost' and yep, it will even start to rise/grow a bit too... This recipe comes from 'The Pioneer Woman' and makes 4 dough balls - when freezing lightly wrap each ball in parchment paper (so they don't touch) and place all four in one large Ziploc for the freezer - when defrosting dough grab one dough ball from freezer and place in a gallon bag for the fridge.  ~Enjoy! Diane 

Pizza Dough 

Ingredients: 
4-1/2 teaspoons Rapid-Rise Yeast (approx 2 1/4 packets) 
2 cups Warm Water (my yeast calls for 120ºF water, check your packet)
2 teaspoons Sugar
5 cups Bread Flour (I use & love King Arthur Bread Flour)
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Salt

Directions: 
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, warmed water, and sugar, and let sit for 10 minutes. This is 'proofing' your yeast, the liquid should be foamy and bubbly, indicating that the yeast is alive.
Add the bread flour, olive oil, and salt to mixer bowl and stir using the dough hook until combined. Then knead on medium low speed for 10 minutes, until dough is smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (Diane Kitchen Tip: or use a clean/clear & new shower cap) and let rise for about 30 minutes, until the dough has doubled in size. 
Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface and divide into four even pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a ball. (Diane Kitchen Tip: I use my small kitchen scale and quickly weigh each dough ball to ensure I divided equally) 
The dough is now ready to be frozen.
To freeze pizza dough, place the pizza dough balls into resealable plastic bags. Make sure that if you put multiple balls of dough in one bag, you use parchment paper or wax paper to keep them separated.
To thaw, place the pizza dough in the refrigerator the morning before you want to make dinner, then roll and bake as usual.
To bake, preheat oven to 495ºF. Roll thawed (or freshly made) dough and bake each pizza about 12–15 minutes. 

Pizza Making ~ Diane Kitchen Tip:
I lightly coat my baking sheet with olive oil before placing my dough down on it and then I add sauce - not too much - you don't want a soggy pizza! followed by shredded cheeses and then any veggies or meats over that - this helps to keep the crust crispier if you lay the meats and veggies over the cheeses.  I also precook my veggies for about 5 minutes on the stove top to release their flavors before adding to pizza. 

Yield: 4 Pizza Dough Balls

Pizza Dough Recipe Adapted from: Ree Drummond "The Pioneer Woman" 
Photos & Kitchen Tips by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home