Basic Bread Dough

This is the bread dough recipe I use when I make my stromboli, but it can also be used as a pizza crust or an easy loaf of bread to go with soup or pasta.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. sugar
1 c. warm water
2 tsp. yeast
3 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. olive oil

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt.

In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, water, and yeast--allow the yeast to activate for about 3-5 minutes.  Once it's foamy, you can add it, along with the olive oil, to the dry ingredients.  Mix well--let it mix for at least 5 minutes.  You will see the dough transform from a coarse texture to an extremely smooth one. (See above picture)

Your dough will be tacky, but not actually sticky.  If you find your dough is really sticking to your fingers, then add a bit more flour and mix it in until you have a soft, tacky dough.

Place the dough into a greased bowl and allow it to rise.  To speed up the process, I always preheat my oven to about 100 degrees, turn it off, and then have the light on in the oven.  Place a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the bowl when you place it into the warm oven.

Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.  You don't have to do a second rise with this recipe unless you really want to.  I typically allow my dough to rest, covered, for about 10 more minutes.  After that it's very pliable and easy to roll out.

Finally, roll the dough out to the desired width, or shape it into a round or oblong loaf if you simply want a basic french bread.