I've been doing pizza lately, trying recipes from the Silver Spoon, New Best Recipe, King Arthur, and Breadtopia (amongst others).  Some specify a short or long rise, with or without olive oil, yeast or sourdough starter, or both. I finally stumbled upon Jeff Varasano's Pizza recipe and I found it certainly the most thorough, easy to follow of the bunch because he offers up the mix by weight and has detailed instructions. 

Pancetta, sundried tomato, marinara and artichoke pizza with parm and *gasp* cheddar (leftovers needing to be used.  Of course the pie was greasy, but my primary goal was to test the dough.  Even under laden conditions, the bottom held up fairly well.) 

In previous recipes, I've been getting a dough that seemed way too dry and tough, requiring a lot of elbow grease and guesswork.  The pizza ended up dense with poorly developed flavor and baked like crackers. This time, I just lackadaisically stirred up the ingredients in a bowl (bread flour and salt, filtered water, then 50/50 mature sourdough starter that had been fed with both bread flour and a small amount of wheat flour).  The entire process took about one episode of The Guild with just a sturdy fork.  After letting the dough rest for 15 minutes, I kneaded by hand until the ball was smooth - should happen fast. I sectioned the dough into very, very lightly oiled containers, covered with plastic wrap, and left them in the fridge.  After two days, I took the dough out two hours before baking (for room temp and a little rising).  At this point, the dough made a windowpane easy.

 A video of the Squadra Nationale Acrobati Pizzaioli to watch during the wait:



Shape the dough on the counter right before you are ready to bake. If the dough gets too sticky or elastic, make a ball, knead it a little, and rest for awhile.  We've been making the pie a bit thin because the stretching is so much fun.  Tony Gemignani's online video shows some basic technique.
 
During building, speed is key! Shift the dough to a floured peel or pan and quickly build the pizza. At each stage of topping, shake the pie to make sure it's not getting sticky on the bottom. Shake it again before you low side that pizza into the oven! For inspiration, the below  "maestro pizzaiolo" (5 parts).



While I can't acheive a VPN pizza(1), I have to work with what I've got.  My thick Chicago Metallic cookie sheet seems to insulate too much, leaving the center gummy.  Instead, a long oven preheat, with thin pizza pan, baked on the second lowest rack at 500 degrees for 10 minutes, achieved an acceptable amount of browning on the bottom and several larger bubbles on the crust.  Once I start using my cast iron pizza pan (upside = no cracked stone, doubles as a grill/roasting pan or crepe griddle), I will experiment  with broiling.  The Mario Batali cast iron pan is currently on sale at Crate and Barrel but the Lodge or pizza screen can be had pretty cheap on the regular.

(1) According to Forno Bravo, a VPN pizza requires :
"1. A Wood-Burning Oven: Pizza Napoletana must be cooked in a wood-fired dome oven operating at roughly 800ºF.
2. Proper Ingredients: Tipo 00 flour, San Marzano tomatoes, all natural Fior di Latte or Bufala mozzarella, fresh basil, salt and yeast -- only fresh, all-natural, non-processed ingredients.
3. Proper Technique: Your pizza dough must be kneaded either by hand, or with a low speed mixer. No mechanical dough shaping is allowed, such as a dough press or rolling pin, and proper pizza preparation. Pizza baking time should not exceed 90 seconds."