My method for the yeast is microwaving a cup of room temperature water for 20-25 sec. The water’s to be lukewarm at minimum, soothing enough for a baby’s bath at maximum. Never let the salt touch the yeast until after liquids are mixed with flour. Salt kills yeast. Happy baking! Just spun my first pizza dough last Friday. It’s fun as hell.
I made pizza again yesterday. Yeast proofed right, no waiting for anything to rise, and: delicious! I'm definitely getting the hang of adding the right amount of flour. That was a problem the first time or two. I didn't skimp on cheese, either, which was good. I'm still using sauce I bought. I think next I'll have to try to make sauce. I did include chopped habaneros I grew myself which was great. Thanks for the recipe! It's really good.
Good to read the progress! The initial steps are the least forgiving. Everything else is where experimentation comes into play. A favorite tip from the recipe’s story is adding a little shredded cheese layer, then the toppings, last a regular layer of shredded cheese. That’s a beautiful pepperoni pizza - nice job making the cruse high enough to contain the innards.
I'm 100% sure my water was too cool the first time. The second time I stuck a food thermometer in it, and where I started was like 85 degrees. 100 degrees was a lot warmer than my finger expected. Considering how well the dough rose the second time, I have no doubt I proofed it right! I'll remember that about salt. Your recipe and the other one I tried started the same way: warm water, sugar, yeast, and wait for it to get foamy (5-8 minutes).