Best Homemade Pizza Dough
Submitted by bookseller
Homemade pizza dough that rises to crisp, chewy perfection on a hot stone. Six pantry ingredients, double-yeast for proper lift, makes two thin-crust 12-inch pies or one thick-crust pizza.
YIELD
26 servingsPREP
2 hrsCOOK
0 minREADY
2 hrsGreat pizza starts at the dough, and the difference between a homemade pizza that’s pretty good and one that beats your local takeaway lives in how the dough is made. The recipe doubles up on yeast (two packets) for serious rise, and proofs that yeast in warm water with a touch of brown sugar to feed it. Water temperature is critical: too cold and the yeast sleeps, too hot and it dies. Aim for 110°F (43°C), warm enough to feel comfortable on the inside of your wrist. Sifted flour and salt go into the bowl with most of the olive oil reserved for greasing the rising bowl later. After 8 to 10 minutes of solid kneading, the dough turns elastic and silky, and goes into an oiled bowl to rise for 1½ to 2 hours until doubled. The real game-changer is what happens at bake time: cook on a pizza stone or unglazed oven tile at 500°F (260°C). The stone absorbs moisture and gives you the crisp, blistered bottom you can’t get from a baking sheet.
Pro Tips
- Sprinkle the pizza pan or stone with cornmeal before laying down the rolled dough. The cornmeal acts as ball bearings so the pizza slides cleanly.
- Form a slightly thicker rim before topping. The raised edge holds sauce and cheese in place and gives you that crusty handle to grip.
- Brush the inside surface of the rolled dough with olive oil before adding sauce. The oil creates a moisture barrier that keeps the crust from going soggy.
- Preheat the stone for at least 30 minutes at full temperature. A cold stone won’t crisp the bottom no matter how long you bake.
Variations
- Replace 1 cup of all-purpose flour with bread flour or 00 flour for chewier, more developed gluten and a more authentic texture.
- Add a tablespoon of dried oregano or Italian seasoning to the dry flour for an herb-infused crust.
- Refrigerate the dough overnight after the first rise for a slow cold-fermented version. The flavor depth is dramatic.
Ingredients
Directions
Measure ½ cup warm water (110 F) into 2 cup container and stir in the brown sugar. (Make sure water is warm, not hot - too hot will kill the yeast).
Dissolve the 2 packages of dried yeast in the water and set it aside for 5 minutes. Will become frothy (about 2 cups worth). Sift 4 cups of the flour and the salt into a large mixing bowl.
Make a depression in the middle of the flour and pour in ¾ of the olive oil and 1 cup of warm water. When the yeast is ready, add it also.
Dust your kneading surface with flour, then mix the ingredients in the bowl with your hands. Place dough ball on the floured surface and knead from 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour to the kneading surface if the dough is too sticky or wet. Eventually the dough will become elastic.
Rub the insides of a clean bowl with the remaining olive oil and place the dough in it, coating the dough with olive oil by turning it in the bowl. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise in warm, draft-free place until double in size, 1½ hours to 2 hours.
An oven with the light on or a lit burner pilot will provide suitable heat for rising dough. When dough has risen, divide into two halves, then roll each out on floured surface. A round shape may be cut out with table knife using 12 inch bowl or plate as template. Sufficient for 2 12 inch thin-crust pizzas, or 1 12 inch thick-crust.
Hint:
Before filling and baking, form rim around outer ring of pizza dough to hold ingredients better.
Brush the inside area of the dough, not the rim, with olive oil and let the dough sit in a warm place and rise a little before filling.
Then spoon in sauce, cover with 1 lb. mozzarella cheese, add meat toppings, then cover with mozzarella/parmesan mixture of cheese. Then brush rim of pizza crust with olive oil.
Sprinkle the pizza pan or oven tiles with cornmeal to prevent pizza from sticking to cooking surface!
The very best:
Cook on a pizza stone or oven tile at 500 F.
The unglazed oven tile makes a huge difference in the crispiness and texture of the crust. It absorbs moisture and keeps oven temperatures even.
May even be removed with pizza and set on a rack on table - will keep pizza warm much longer.
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