This is my go-to dough. It gets made on a regular basis and can be used as a pizza crust, or rolled out to make homemade cinnamon buns or griddle bread as shown in the photo - a whole myriad of toothsome items. I've also made grape, goat cheese and rosemary foccacia with it. The possibilities are endless despite the really nasty photo I took of my last batch of griddle breads and shared with you above.
Sometimes I make it with plain flour, sometimes with a mixture of plain and whole wheat. Occasionally I might even throw some oat bran into the mix if no one is looking and I am feeling as though I have been letting my family down on the nutrition front.
The point I am attempting to make is that this recipe is infintely adaptable and should be a staple in anyone's repertoire. Oh, and it freezes brilliantly as well.
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, or a blend of flours as described above 1 3/4 tsps salt 1 tsp instant yeast 1/4 cup olive oil 1 3/4 cups water, ice cold
Additional plain flour for dusting
Stir together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in a large bowl. Add the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed and work the mixture into a smooth, sticky dough. This will take about 5 minutes. If the dough is too wet and doesn't come off the sides of the bowl, sprinkle in some more flour just until it clears the sides. If it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a tea- spoon or two of cold water. The finished dough will be springy and elastic and, just like they say in books, reminiscent of a baby's bum. For those who have dealt with babies; you'll know what I mean when you see it.
Dribble some olive oil over the dough and roll it over in the bowl to coat it with the oil. Cover it with a damp cloth and place it in a draft-free place to rise for a couple of hours. I usually use the microwave or the oven. Sometimes, due to an unexpected invitation or an unadulterated onset of sloth, I have placed said bowl overnight in the fridge to rise. As I mentioned before, it is a very forgiving dough.
When the dough is good to go, use it according to whatever recipe you are planning on making. This recipe makes a fair amount so I usually split it into 3 equal amounts and freeze 2 of them for future use. A third of the dough will make a large thin-crust pizza for 2 or 12 cinnamon rolls.
(Adapted from who knows where. I copied this out and the recipe has been in my files for ages so apologies and unabashed thanks to the uncredited cook.)