Recipe
Pizza Dough
Yield: 4 10 to 12-inch Pizzas
This is a basic, 80% hydration pizza dough. Feel free to play with this recipe. Sub out a little of the bread flour for whole wheat or some other whole grain. Add a little olive oil or honey. See full notes below.
Ingredients
- 500 g. (about 3.5 cups using dip & sweep method) bread flour or 00 flour or all-purpose flour (see notes below)
- 325 g. (1 1/3 liquid cups) lukewarm water
- 7 g. (2 ¼ tsp or 1 envelope) instant yeast or active dry yeast
- 12 g. (2 tsp) salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the flour, yeast, and salt. Add all the water. Stir to combine with a wooden spoon or a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
- If using mixer, set speed to 2 and knead for 5 minutes. Increase speed to 4 (you’ll have to hold on to the mixer so it does not vibrate off the table) and knead for another 5 minutes until dough is stretchy and holds a windowpane at least briefly before tearing.
- If hand kneading, once water is fully incorporated, turn dough, including all flour and shaggy bits, out onto an un-floured counter. Knead for 15 minutes until windowpane stage is achieved.
- Shape into 1 ball and place in a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size. 1 - 2 hours depending on the temperature in your kitchen.
- After dough has doubled, line a baking pan with parchment and spray with cooking spray and set aside. Turn dough onto clean countertop. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball by flattening slightly into a rectangle, then roll the rectangle up starting at a short edge, then fold all the sides and corners down and together at the understand of the ball. Use your palms to bring the seams together (the seams won’t disappear). Set the ball, seam side down, on the prepared pan. Repeat with remaining segments of dough.
- Cover tray with greased plastic wrap, loosely but securely so that the dough has room to rise, but outside air is not getting in (air will dry out your dough, making shaping more difficult.) Let rest/rise for another 1 hour, until puffy and nearly doubled in size. Chill for at least 30 minutes, time permitting.
- 5. 30 minutes before shaping, preheat oven as hot as it will go with a pizza stone inside the oven, set on the middle rack.
- 6. Cut a large piece of parchment and dust generously with cornmeal, semolina, or rice flour. Remove one dough ball from the tray, making sure to keep remaining balls sealed with plastic. Shape into a 10 to 12-inch pie by stretching with hands and knuckles. If the dough is tearing, lay on counter and use fingers to stretch, otherwise stretch the dough in the air.
- 7. Top and use a pizza peel or thin, sturdy cutting board or rimless cookie sheet to move pizza from counter to the hot stone in the oven. Let it bake on the parchment. Bakes for about 9 minutes in a 550F oven. Ovens are all different. Keep an eye on your pizza. Yours may take less or more time.
Notes:
For a chewy crust: use bread flour or high gluten flour
For a softer crust: use 00 flour or all-purpose flour, or add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to dough made with bread flour.
For a crisper crust: bake at temps above 500F, bake on a pizza stone, use 00 flour
For complex flavor: Substitute up to 10% of flour with whole wheat, rye, or an heirloom flour. Long ferment the dough for the first rise by letting it rise in the fridge over night (8-12).
Dough made with bread flour will be easier to handle and is less likely to tear.
