No-Knead Pizza Dough

This recipe comes to us from Joe Yonan, author of Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One.

Makes 5 (8-inch) pizza crusts or 10 (5-inch) flatbread

• 4 cups bread flour, plus more as needed
• 1/4 teaspoon instant dry yeast (also known as rapid-rise or bread machine yeast)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Olive oil

Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add the water and stir until blended. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 8 to 12 hours at room temperature (about 70°F).
After 8 hours, the dough will have risen and be bubbly on the surface. The timing is very forgiving here; you can let it continue bubbling and very slowly expanding for several more hours if you like. Transfer the dough to the refrigerator for about an hour before dividing, so it’s easier to work with.
Lightly rub your hands and work counter with olive oil. Turn out the dough onto the counter in one piece. Lightly dust it with flour and fold the dough on itself a few times, adding more flour if needed, until it comes together and holds its shape when you gather it into a ball. Cut into 5 equal pieces (for pizza), about 6 ounces apiece, or 10 equal pieces (for flatbread), about 3 ounces apiece.
Refrigerate or freeze what you’re not going to use right away. Transfer the balls to individual freezer-safe plastic food storage bags, drizzle with olive oil, and turn the dough to coat it in the oil. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Sprinkle the piece(s) you are going to use immediately with flour and transfer it to a lightly floured baking sheet. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise for about 1 hour.
Proceed with one of the pizza recipes on pages 106 to 
118 or to the flatbread recipe on page 115.
Note: If you have refrigerated the dough, remove it from the refrigerator and let it rise for about 1 hour. If you have frozen the dough, defrost in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours, then transfer it to the counter to rise for an hour. The dough should be pliable and able to be easily stretched into shape.