Dough.  Warm the water to body temperature in a quart bowl.  Stir in the sugar and yeast.  Allow to sit until the yeast develops at least an inch of foam.  In a separate bowl, stir the other dry ingredients together. Pour the yeast mixture into the dry bowl.  Use your hands to mix thoroughly.  Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel moistened with warm water and allow it to rise until it more than doubles (8 to 18 hours).  Form into balls.  You want to be able to roll (or hand shape) a pizza about 14” in diameter and about 1/8” thick.

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Sauce.  Prepare a batch of Marinara Sauce, but simmer until most of the liquid is gone and the sauce becomes very thick.

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Pizza.  Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  You need a pizza stone in the oven and some tongs and a pizza paddle to move the pizza. Cook any toppings that need to be cooked in advance (onions, mushrooms, sausage, etc.).  Flour the rolling surface (using 00 flour).  Roll out (or hand shape) dough to 1/8’’ thick oil (sprinkle flour if the dough begins to stick).  Put a little cornmeal on the paddle and the pizza stone so the pizza slides easily without sticking.  Brush the dough with olive oil.  Pre-cook the crust for 5 minutes (this will make the pizza easier to handle when loaded with all the toppings).  Use a fork to pop any bubbles that form on the partially cooked dough.  Spread a thin layer of Sauce across the crust. Add the mozzarella and basil. Stop there for simple, good pizza … or continue on with whatever topping you desire.  Return the pizza to the oven until the crust reaches the desired crispness (about 5 minutes more).  Slice with a pizza cutter and serve.

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