Sue, welcome to the site. You'll learn that there are many differences of opinion on these points and others. Mine are:
1. I strongly prefer and only use ADY yeast for pizzamaking, putting it (and stirring it a bit) in water warmed to between 100 and 110 degrees F (and no hotter - use a small thermometer) for approx. 8 to 10 minutes until it foams up nicely. It gets problematic if you allow it to foam up for 20 minutes or longer before adding it to the flour. If it doesn't foam up, the yeast should be discarded as either it was no good or water too hot or cold. Tom Lehmann, the Dough Dr., advices against putting salt or sugar in the water used to proof the yeast, but many of our members here put in a pinch or more of sugar in the yeast water.
2. I used to use a pizza stone but mine is collecting dust as I prefer baking pizzas in a cutter pan for thin and cracker crusts or a deep dish pan for Chicago Style deep dish. But for NY and eastern style pizzas, which I don't do much of, I think a pizza stone would be advantageous. And others use one for other styles as well. Best to experiment.
3. I generally dock the pizza skin (for cracker crusts) to minimize the rise in the dough and the air pockets when par baking the crust. I like a little but not a lot of them so that the sauce, cheese and toppings that are applied after par baking lay relatively flat on the pizza. But I guess much of this is an individual preference matter. Docking a thin crust pizza is not uncommon in commercial applications. But for some styles, it is often not done. Again, best to experiment.
Good luck and enjoy your pizzamaking. --BTB
