DIRECTIONS
Stir together hot water and sugar. Stir in yeast and let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy.
Stir in flour and salt until ragged dough forms. Turn out onto floured work surface and knead dough until smooth and soft; sprinkling lightly with additional flour so dough is not sticky.
Rub dough with a drizzle of oil and place on dinner plate. Cover with plastic wrap and tea towel and set aside to rise for about 1 1/2 hours. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate dough for up to 2 days, then let it come to room temperature before continuing with recipe.)
Turn out dough onto floured work surface and start pressing it out into a circle.
Gently stretch dough on your knuckles until a 12-inch round is formed.
If you have a pizza stone, place it in the oven. If not, place a large baking sheet upside down in the oven. Preheat oven to 500°F.
Spread pizza sauce all over pizza dough to cover. Sprinkle with oregano leaves.
Break apart mozzarella and distribute all over pizza. Using a floured pizza peel or floured baking sheet, transfer pizza to hot pizza stone and bake for about 8 minutes, rotating to bake evenly all around as necessary. Pizza crust should be golden and cheese melted and bubbly.
Remove pizza using pizza peel and place on a cutting board. Sprinkle with basil leaves and let stand 1 minute before cutting into wedges to serve.
Drizzle with balsamic glaze, if using.
