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If you’ve tackled pizza making at home with mixed results, this post is for you! Professional cookbook editor and recipe tester Peggy Paul Casella knows pizza. Her blog Thursday Night Pizza is entirely devoted to pizza, offering a new recipe, yes, every Thursday. (Fun fact: Peggy is the author of the official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizza Cookbook.) To quote Peggy, “It’s amazing how a circle of fresh-made dough can open your mind to endless possibilities.” We highly encourage you to visit her site for fresh pizza inspiration – from classic pies like margherita to seasonal toppings like asparagus and pickled rhubarb. You might end up making Thursday night pizza night every week yourself!

Below are two dough recipes courtesy of Peggy: a slow-rise version that requires at least one day for rising and a weeknight alternative that only takes requires one hour. For additional tips and tricks (and two more dough recipes), visit the Dough-1o1 section of Peggy’s site.

Slow-Rise Pizza Dough
Yield:2 (approximately 16-ounce) balls

3 ¾ cups bread flour
¼ tsp active dry or instant yeast
2 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp sugar
1½ cups cold water
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the water and oil and mix with your hands or a wooden spoon until all of the flour is incorporated. The dough will be sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for 18 to 20 hours or until it has more than doubled in volume.

Scrape the dough out onto a floured work surface and use a knife or scraper to divide it in half. Shape each piece of dough into a ball by folding its four sides under toward the center and squeezing. If the dough feels sticky, dust it with flour.

Cover the formed dough balls with a damp kitchen towel and let them rest for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours before using. (Or, if you’re not making pizza right away, wrap the balls loosely with plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)

Stretch out the dough, add desired toppings, and bake.

Weeknight (1 Hour) Pizza Dough
Yield:2 (approximately 16-ounce) balls

3 1/3 cups bread flour (or use 2 cups bread flour and 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour for extra flavor and fiber)
1½ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 (¼-ounce) package instant or rapid-rise dry yeast*
1¼ cups warm water
Extra-virgin olive oil

To mix by hand: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast with a wooden spoon. Pour in the water and mix for at least 30 seconds with the wooden spoon or your hands, until the dough just comes together into a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. (If the dough looks too dry and isn’t coming together, mix in a little more water, 1 teaspoon at a time.)

Using a food processor (with dough blade) or electric mixer (with dough hook): In the bowl of a food processor or electric mixer, combine the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. With the machine running on dough speed (food processor) or medium (electric mixer), stream in the water. Keep processing/mixing the dough for 30 seconds after it comes together into a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. (If the dough looks too dry and isn’t coming together, mix in a little more water, 1 teaspoon at a time.) Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until it’s smooth and no longer sticky.

Rub the inside of a clean, large bowl liberally with olive oil. Place the dough ball in the oiled bowl and turn to coat it in oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour. (It should double in size.) Divide the dough into two equal pieces, and shape each piece into a ball. (Dough can be refrigerated or frozen at this point.) Cover the dough balls with a damp dish towel, and let them rest for at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour. Or, if you’re in a rush, you can skip the extra resting time.

Roll or stretch out the dough, add desired toppings, and bake.

And for those days when you simply don’t feel like cooking, The Philadelphia Inquirer has a comprehensive list of area restaurants who are offering takeout and delivery!