Mix the Dough:

In small bowl mix 2 T warm water and yeast.  Set aside for 5 minutes to get frothy.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk the remaining dry ingredients. Set aside.

In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the sourdough discard, warm water and olive oil.  Add frothy yeast.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients using a fork.  As the dough thickens, use a stiff spatula to scrape the dough from the sides of the bowl and your hands.  In the bowl, knead the dough by hand for two minutes. Scraping sides with a spatula to incorporate all ingredients.  Knead until the dough is smooth.  Gather into a ball and let rest.

Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let rise in warm area for 90-120 minutes. The dough should rise to about 1 1/2 times its size and be fluffy/springy to the touch.  If your kitchen is cool, set it in the oven with the light on. 

Prepare:

Generously brush olive oil on a piece of parchment paper.  One for each crust.  Use a sheet pan with no sides or a pizza peel to slide the shaped dough onto the pizza stone or pizza pan for baking.

Prepare the oven by placing an oven rack at the center and if making two pizzas, another rack two settings down (leaving enough room to slide the pizza on to the pan).

Place sheet pan(s) and/or pizza stones on racks. Two crusts or pizzas can be baked at the same time.

Preheat the oven to 550 Fahrenheit (288 Celsius).

Divide the Dough:

Fill a shallow bowl with cool water so you can wet your hands as needed.  You will use water to shape the dough. Do not use flour!  Moisten your work surface with water. Turn the dough out onto the moist work surface. Dampen your fingertips and palms with water and pat the dough into a disk, Using a dampened dough scraper or other flat utensil, divide the dough into two equal pieces.

Moisten your hands again and shape each piece into a rough ball by tucking the edges under. Set the dough balls on a water-moist work surface.

Shape the Dough:

On the oiled parchment paper, set a pizza dough ball in the center. Dampen your palm and fingertips with water. Working with both fingertips and palms, start pressing in the center of the dough, working your way towards the edges in a circular pattern.  Leave an edge all around that is thicker than the base of the crust to hold in all those delicious toppings! If you have tearing, wet your hands/fingertips and smooth those areas back together. Continue until a 10” pizza shape is achieved. 

Using a fork prick the top of the crust at least 10 times.  This helps prevent it from puffing up too much during parbake.  If you notice it getting too puffy during parbake you can add more fork pricks or use the tip of a knife to make a tiny cut in the crust about half way through the parbake.

Tear off any excess parchment paper, but leave some overhang to use as a handle if needed.

Parbake the Dough:

Slide the shaped pizza dough onto the pizza peel or sheet pan using the parchment as a handle if needed.

Slide the pizza dough onto the preheated pizza stone or pizza pan. 

Par-bake for 11-13 minutes or until the dough is golden brown around the edges and center. Remove from the oven.

The parchment will be brittle at this point and should be carefully removed prior to baking the pizza.

 Bake the Pizza:

Top the par baked crust with your sauces and toppings. Bake the assembled pizza on preheated stone or pan at 550 Fahrenheit (288 Celsius) for about 6-8 minutes or until the cheese has melted and sauce is bubbly – a little cheese blistering is okay! Keep a close eye on the pizza – at 550 degrees it can quickly burn.

Remove from oven and allow to rest for five minutes. Cut into 8 equal pieces.