Day 1 - Making the Dough

• Warm the small portion of water to 80°F to 85°F and add it to your stand mixer bowl.
• Add the yeast and whisk for 30 seconds. The yeast should dissolve and bubble – if it doesn’t, the yeast is dead and you need new yeast.
  
• Add the flour and the malt (if you’re using it) to the mixing bowl and start the stand mixer with a dough hook attachment on the lowest speed setting.
  
• Slowly add almost all of the ice water while the mixer continues to spin at the slowest setting for about 1 minute. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of water for the moment.
  
• Stop the mixer, wet your hands and pull the dough off the hook and manually mix any large bits of dough stuck to the bowl into the main dough ball. You may want to use a dough scraper or spatula for this, but I generally just use my fingers.
• If the dough feels dry and isn’t staying together in one ball, rewet your hands and knead the water from your hands into the dough.
• Add the salt to the dough and restart the mixer at the slowest speed for another minute.
• Stop the mixer. Manually reform the dough ball.
• Add 1 teaspoon of oil to the dough and restart the mixer for 2 minutes. You’ll likely stop the mixer a couple of times to make sure the dough ball is actually being mixed and not just “going for a ride” on the dough hook.
• Transfer the dough from the mixing bowl to a clean, unfloured work area. The dough should not be overly dry so it stays together while kneading (otherwise wet your hands and work the moisture into the dough) but it is also not pulling itself apart by sticking to the work surface (in which case you’ll need to dust the dough with a little more flour and work it in).
• Knead by hand for 2-3 minutes until the dough is smooth.
  
• Cover with a damp cloth or tea towel for 1 hour.
• Split into 2 equal 10 oz. dough balls. This dough ball will be the right size for 2 round 12" pizzas.
  
• Lightly flour the exterior of the dough balls and place into an air tight container (or two) at least 3″ apart and store in the fridge for 24 hours.

Day 2:

Transfer the Dough to your Work Surface: Tony Gemignani's Method

• Remove the pizza from the fridge and let warm in the sealed container at room temperature until ~60°F.
• At this time, preheat your outdoor pizza oven, which generally will take 30+ minutes depending on if you use wood or propane.
• Dust your work area and also your pizza peel with Tony’s “Dusting Mixture”:

  - A 50/50 combination of the flour used in the pizza (Tony Gemignani Flour) and fine semolina flour.

  - If you don’t have semolina flour, you might want to use any fairly coarse flour (even whole wheat).

  - You can also use a 2 parts flour to 1 part cornmeal. But if you use cornmeal, do not flip the dough over – you don’t want the cornmeal under the toppings.
  
• If there are large air bubbles in the dough, pinch them with your fingers to pop them.
  
• Using your fingers or a dough cutter, lift the dough ball away from the bottom of the container. If the dough is very sticky, Tony recommends wetting the dough cutter to get underneath. I generally dust my hands in flour and gently lift it with my fingers.
  
• Transfer your dough to the dusted work surface as gently as possible – try hard not to distort the shape.

Stretch the Dough: Tony Gemignani's Method

• Dust your hands with only the Tony Gemignani flour.
• Press your hands into the center of the dough trying to leave about an inch ring around the outside. You want to make an impression in the center but leave a 3/4″ lip.
  
• Flip the dough between your hands:

  - Lay the dough across the open palm of one hand.

  - Gently flip it onto the open palm of the other hand.

  - Rotate the dough a little and repeat “a few more times”. I think 6 is as high as you should go!

  - The more gently you do this step, the more tender the final crust will be.
  
• Stretch the dough by draping it over your hands and rotating:

  - Drape the dough over your two loosely clenched fists with your fingers facing each other.

  - Move your fists apart a little (maybe 1″) and toss the dough up with both fists to turn it slightly.

  - You’re NOT THROWING the dough in the air like on TV! Just an inch in the air so that it will turn.
  
• When the dough is thin enough to see light through it, you’ve stretched it enough. The pizza disk is probably 12″ to 13″ in diameter.
  

Prepare to Cook the Pizza: Satisfying Slice Style!

• Ensure your pizza oven is between 600°F to 650°F.
  
• Gently transfer to the pizza peel, which has been dusted with flour.
• Top with your favorite toppings.
• Launch the pizza into the oven.
• The pizza will take 5-6 minutes to cook, but monitor throughout. Rotate a quarter turn 4 times.
  
• Rest for 5 minutes before cutting and eat immediately.