Basic Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 1 package of active yeast
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
• 1/4 cup lard
• 3 to 4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Olive oil

Directions

In an electric mixing bowl, whisk the yeast, sugar, water and lard together to make a paste. Add the flour and salt and mix, using a dough hook, until the dough comes away from the sides and crawls up the dough hook. Remove the dough from the bowl. Grease the bowl with olive oil and place the dough back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until double in size, about an hour. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide dough in half. Roll the dough into balls, cover and let the dough rest for 15 to 20 minutes. The dough is ready to be shaped.