1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup stale beer
1 3/4 warm water, plus more as needed
5 cups organic all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sea salt

1.  The day before you make your pizza, make the sponge: Combine the yeast, olive oil, honey, beer, 1 3/4 cups warm water and 1 cup of the flour in a large bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and leave out at room temperature for several hours, until the sponge has doubled in volume.  Tap the bowl on the countertop to release the air (it's too sticky to punch) and refrigerate overnight.

2.  The next day, add the remaining 4 cups of flour, the sea salt, and enough warm water to make a sticky dough.  Turn out onto a well-floured countertop and knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is satiny and smooth.

3.  Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel.  Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.

4.  Divide into six 8-ounce portions.  I prefer rustic pies to perfectly round ones.  To form a pie, I dust a ball of dough with flour, and gently flatten it with my fist.  Then, using my fingertips, I hold the dough on the edges and let gravity do its work.  I gently squeeze the edges as I rotate the pie and it begins to take shape.  After a couple rotations, I place it on the table.  I dust it with more flour and pull it with my fingertips until it is about 10 inches around.  Any shape is fine - just keep the dough uniformly thick.  If holes form, squeeze the dough to fill them in.  Any leftover dough can be frozen.

makes enough dough for 6 10-inch pizzas