I have tried a number of times to make my own pizza dough. Where I am falling down is the sponge.
In general, I am mixing a packet of yeast with about 2/3 C of flour, and 3/4 cup of very warm water. Let rise in a warm place. I no longer have a gas oven. I leave it in the oven with the light on.
After the first 30 minutes, it looks like it is starting fine. I then add a cup of my flour/salt mixture, and a cup of cold water, then return to the lighted oven.
After 30 more minutes, it does not look right at all. It looks somewhat spongy, but not enough. It hasn't gained in volume, and judging from previous attempts, I abandoned making dough because it hadn't risen before.
Do I need to add heat somehow? For the process outlined, I was cooking on the range. Would that residual heat have been too much for the inside of the oven?