Recipe

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• 1 1/2 cups water (test on inside of wrist, like for a baby bottle- that's the right temp!)
• 1 (1/4 oz) packet dry yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 -4 cups bread flour
• 1 tbsp cornmeal
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil , plus additional as needed

• 1 Stir together the water, yeast and the sugar.
• 2 Let rest until the yeast foams, about 3 minutes.
• 3 Place 2 1/2-cups of the flour, salt and cornmeal in a mixing bowl and combine.
• 4 Add the yeast mixture and olive oil and stir together to form a sticky dough.
• 5 Remove from bowl and knead, adding the remaining flour a little at a time until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
• 6 The longer you knead, the more texture your dough will have.
• 7 Turn the dough into a lightly oiled bowl.
• 8 Cover with a dry towel and place in a warm, draft free area.
• 9 (I usually stick it in the oven. If your oven is cold, very briefly- about 1 minute- turn to highest temp, then off again, well before placing bowl in oven. Let's not melt any bowls, eh?) Let rise for at least one hour.
• 10 When dough has doubled in bulk, punch back down.
• 11 At this point, add any of the optional ingredients at end of recipe, or as desired.
• 12 Let the dough rise again, until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
• 13 Or, if there were no extra additions, shape and add toppings.
• 14 Bake at 500°F for about 8 minutes.
• 15 Optional, but worthwhile: fresh herbs (I use basil, oregano and thyme), chopped minced garlic, parmiagiano-reggiano and extra cornmeal for texture.