Home made Pizza Dough (/ Rosemary Garlic Foccacia)

This was originally a recipe for Rosemary Garlic Foccacia Bread, but works fantastic as a light, fluffy pizza dough!

1 3/4 Cups warm water
1 tbsp traditional baking yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups unbleached flour (you can substitute one cup of unbleached flour for whole wheat flour if you wish)

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine warm water, yeast and sugar. Let sit until mixture foams. Stir in salt and olive oil, then start adding flour one cup at a time, until you can no longer mix. Turn dough onto a lightly floured counter, add remaining flour and knead until soft and elastic.

2. Form dough into a ball, place in a large, slightly oiled bowl. Cover with a warm, damp cloth, and set bowl in a warm, draft free spot. Let rise until doubled in bulk (1 - 1 1/2 hours). Punch dough down, let rise again until doubled.

3. Pre heat oven to 350F. Place dough on a well oiled 12x16 baking sheet (or round pizza pan). Gently stretch dough to fit the dimensions of the pan, folding up and over at the edges for thicker crust. Let rise for about 15 minutes, or just until it puffs up slightly.

4. Add sauce, pizza toppings and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating pan half way through. Crust should be starting to turn golden brown around edges when done.

If you are wanting to make Foccacia Bread: After stretching dough to fit pan in step 3, drizzle surface with olive oil, minced garlic and chopped rosemary, followed by some coarse salt. Gently poke indentations all over the surface with your finger tips. Let rise 15 minutes or until puffy looking, bake as directed.