This is my 3 rd attempt to make Pizza.The first 2 times,the dough doesn't rise and I have no idea why and what happened.I seek my neighbor advise.She had catering business in Brooklyn before moved to Long Island.She ask me what type of yeast I used and how is the temperates of my water.I told her that the 1st time I microwave a cup of water before pour into the yeast and the 2ND time I boiled hot water from kettle.She said"what?..no..no...no hot water,you kill the yeast!!"no wonder you're yeast can't rise!!"Alamak!!..well I don't have basic in baking,how would I know about that?.I still thought the water is not hot enough,so I boiled it the second time.She advise me to put a spoon of sugar to mix with yeast,said yeast love sugar..

I'm very happy with this dough result.No more like 'brick' pizza dough.Eventhough, Elliot don't mind eating all my' brick' pizza but I feel bad and embarrassed.I'm using her method this time and it's quite success.She told me that I should use the sink pipe hot water,just warm to touch not too hot.If it's too hot ,the water kill the yeast or too cold the yeast won't rise.I show her my measurement cup,she said mine is for liquid not for flour.She said liquid measurement cup tend to be a little more than flour one..Huh!..measurement cup for powder??.scratching my head...hmmmmm,I remember I saw few plastic measurement cups in garage.I go to my garage to dig and dig all the boxes and found one.I almost throw away the other day when I'm cleaning some junks.Then I'm change my mind,I rather bring all the junk to church better than pick up by the garbage man.All my baking equipments belonged to my mother-in-law.So I quickly 'google" a new pizza dough recipe again.Here what I found..

Basic Pizza Dough from Fabulousfood

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups flour1 cup warm water (between 95° and 115° F.)

2 T yeast (2 tablespoons, I like my dough a little yeasty. You can use less)

2 T honey

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

Method by Hand

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By HandPour warm water into a bowl. The water should be about 85 to 115° F. Test it with your hand. It should feel very warm, but comfortable. Add the honey and salt. Mix on low until well blended. Add the yeast and mix. Let this mixture sit for about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of flour and the olive oil and mix until well blended. Add the rest of the flour (and any other additions) and mix well. The dough should turn into a ball. If the dough does not ball up because it's too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until it does. If your mixture is more like a batter, add flour one tablespoon at a time. Adding water or flour as needed to get the right consistency will assure you always get a perfect dough. Just remember to do it in small amounts.
Once the dough is balled up, place the ball on a floured board and knead for about a minute. This builds the gluten which helps the dough to rise and become fluffy when cooked. Place the dough in a plastic grocery bag or a covered bowl and store in a warm, dry area to rise.
After about 45 minutes the dough should have about doubled in size. Show it who's boss and punch it down. That's right, give it a good smack so it deflates. Let it rise for another hour to an hour and a half. The dough is now ready to be rolled out. You can punch the dough down one more time if you want and wait another hour or two before rolling out. The choice is yours.
You're now ready for the next step: Rolling out the dough!
This dough can also be made in advance and refrigerated for a day or so, or even frozen. Be sure to let it come to room temperature before using


I make Buffalo Chicken and Minced Beef topping on my pizza.I have some extra dough,so I make some calzones too.Elliot is happily chow all the pizza in two days!!.Breakfast,lunch and dinner.He even called me "MamaLIMBardi" Pizza.He love pizza,so if I cook my stinky and spicy food ,he won't complaint.He have his homemade pizza!.Now I understand the basic of dough making,my next step will be different type of pizza and topping..Viola!!