Basic Pizza Dough (Stand Mixer)

One of my "fears" has been making bread from scratch, which got magnified when moving to Colorado. I always used excuses, like "I need a Kitchenaid". Well, the hubby helped out with that part and now after some reading and advice from forums on the internet, I decided to start with pizza dough. It turned out really well and the hubby stated several times that it was "the best pizza dough he'd ever tasted". Yay! I couldn't have done it without the "Stand Mixer Bible" and helpful hints from the internet.

1. package active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp salt
Optional-cornmeal (I opted out of this one)

1. In a bowl, stir together yeast, water and sugar. Let stand until yeast begins to form, 3-4 minutes.[I put my mixing bowl in a sinkful of hot water prior, per a google tip.] Stir in oil.
2. Place flour and salt in the mixer bowl. Attach the flat beater and mixer bowl to the mixer. Set to speed 2 and mix until salt is blended evenly into the flour. Quickly pour in yeast mixture and mix until a dough forms.
3. Remove the flat beater and attach the dough hook. Set to speed 2 and knead until dough is smooth and elastic and cleans the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes. Remove the mixer bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. [I turned the oven on 225 for about 5 minutes then turned if off just prior to getting started on this recipe then used the oven as the "warm draft-free place.]
4. Place pizza stone or tiles on oven rack and preheat oven to 450 F.
5. Uncover dough and punch down several times to work out air bubbles. Turn out onto a floured work surface and cut in half. As you work with the first piece of dough, keep the other covered.Roll one piece of dough into a 12-inch round. Transfer to peel or baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Open the oven door and place the front edge of the peel at the back edge of the stone. Tilt the peel slightly and pull it back toward you, transferring the dough to the stone. Bake for about 2 minutes, or until the dough has firmed up. To retrieve the dough, slide the peel under it, scooping it up. Repeat with the second piece of dough. [I used a 16" pizza pan, but next time I'll use the 12" suggestion because the hubby prefers a thin crust. The 16" turned out like a hand-tossed.]