Gluten is the stringy protein in flour that allows the dough to stretch. Flour labeled "High Gluten" like King Arther Sir Lancelot or Conagra Mills All Trumps. If I can't find either of those, Bread Flour is an ok substitute since it has a higher gluten content.
Blooming active dry yeast is like a science experiment. I skip the blooming and use Fleischmann's Instant Dry Yeast. You can literally throw this yeast in as is. No activation needed.
I use a dough calculator to measure my ingredients. This pizza calculator is very helpful. The numbers you input will determine what kind of dough you get. (i.e. NY, Chicago)
I always try to shoot for a NY style dough with the following formula:
Thickness Factor: 0.080 - 0.085
Flour: 100%
Water: 60 - 65%
Yeast: 0.2 - 0.3%
Salt: 1 - 2%
Olive Oil: 2 - 3%
I choose how many dough balls I want, my pizza size, and then the calculator will tells me the amount of each ingredient I need. Best kneading method is to use a kitchen mixer with a dough hook attachment. I kneed til dough resembles chewed gum. Then I ball it up, put it in the fridge, and let it rise for 24 hours.
Getting good tomatoes is the most important part of a good pizza sauce. I look for brands that sell vine ripened tomatoes from California or Italy. Escalon and Stanislaus are iconic names in the world of restaurant pizza sauce. Whether it's whole peeled tomatoes, canned crushed, or their heavy puree, these two brands can some good tomato products. Making sauce from fresh tomatoes is like building a VCR from old toaster parts - I wouldn't try it. Getting canned tomatoes from California or Italy ensures that these are the best, most delicious tomatoes. If you go with a trusted brand they also will skip adding preservatives like citric acid. Citric acid is used in A LOT of grocery store brand canned tomatoes, but you don't need it to preserved tomatoes. Tomato puree is acidic enough to preserve tomatoes. It also preserves taste.
You can make a perfectly good tomato sauce with crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. But I like to add a little bit more. I use salt, pepper, dried oregano, sugar, crushed garlic, parmesan, butter and MSG in my sauce.
There's so many ways to make tomato sauce. I like my sauce thin and flavorful like some NY pizzas. I will take a thicker tomato product, like tomato paste, but in this case - Stanislaus Extra Heavy Puree - and add it to a pot on the stove with water. Watering it down in this case is perfectly fine. Extra Heavy Puree is a thicker super flavorful product intended to be thinned. I then add my seasonings and butter and let this simmer for about a half an hour. This process allows the herbs and the sauce to release their flavors. But I find it important to still have a bright tomato tang to the sauce, so at this point I'll take the pot off the heat and add Canned Crushed Tomatoes. Whole Peeled Tomatoes will work too - I just make sure I mill them first. As far as amount goes I try to match whatever is in the pot already. If the puree, water, and seasonings is half the pot then I fill the other half of the pot with the canned crushed tomatoes. And that's it. I then store the sauce in the fridge.
1 part Stanislaus Extra Heavy Puree
1 part Water
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Dried Oregano
Crushed Garlic
Parmesan
Sugar
MSG
Let simmer 1/2 an hour
Take off heat
2 parts 7/11 canned crushed tomatoes - milled
Mix together
Put in fridge
There's a lot of hype around whole milk mozzarella nowadays. That's important for a good greasy pizza, but not nearly as important as the brand. Part skim cheese from a good supplier will taste and melt better than "whole milk" cheese from a shoddy supplier. Grande Cheese is my favorite.
Whole Milk Mozzarella will melt the best and give the most classic NY Pizza taste. I also like to add some Fresh Mozzarella to the mix like Ovoline Mozzarella and a sprinkle of Parmagiano Reggiano once cooked.