No-Knead Pizza Dough

Note: this dough requires a long (18+ hour) rise time, so plan ahead!

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, yeast and salt until thoroughly combined. Add water and stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.

Lightly flour your hands and shape the dough into a ball; return dough to the bowl. Cover bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap or a tea towel and let it rise until dough is more than doubled, about 18 hours.

When dough is fully risen (it should have a bunch of tiny bubbles on top), punch down dough and remove it from the bowl. Transfer to a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Lightly flour the tops of each piece of dough. Whatever pieces of dough you don’t plan to use right away, shape them into balls, cover them with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge for later use.*

Pat each piece of dough into a 6 to 8-inch circle. Fold dough in half over the top, then fold up the bottom. Then fold in the right side, then the left side. Turn dough over seam-side down. Shape into a round ball and place on a lightly floured pizza stone or baking sheet. Sprinkle top of dough with flour and cover with plastic wrap; let it rest 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place a rack in the upper third of your oven. Heat oven to 450 F for 30 minutes. When dough is fully rested, uncover and press gently into a 10 to 12-inch circle (if the dough resists, cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit another 10 minutes).

Top dough with desired toppings. Place the pizza on the upper rack of the oven and bake 15-20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until dough is lightly brown and cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven; cool 5 minutes before slicing.

*To use refrigerated dough, uncover dough on a lightly floured counter top. Cover it with a damp towel until dough comes to room temperature (about 2-3 hours). Refrigerated dough should be used within 3 days.

Dough makes four 8- to 10-inch pizzas.

Recipe adapted from Food52.