Pizza Dough with Bread Flour
Pizza dough made with bread flour for a chewy, crisp crust with real stretch. One easy batch rolls into big thin-crust pizzas, and the dough freezes beautifully for later.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
0 minREADY
1½ hrsBread flour is the quiet hero of a good pizza crust. Its higher protein content builds more gluten, and that gluten is what lets you stretch the dough thin and wide without it tearing, then bake it into a crust that’s chewy with a crisp bite instead of soft and bready.
The method is forgiving. You proof the yeast in lukewarm water (the recipe smartly boils the water first, then cools it, so it’s warm enough to wake the yeast but not so hot it kills it), mix in the flour, sugar, salt, and oil, and knead for about five minutes to develop that gluten. An hour’s rest under wrap lets it rise and relax so it rolls out easily.
One touch worth keeping: dock the rolled dough by poking it all over with a fork. Those little holes let steam escape so the crust bakes flat instead of bubbling up and separating.
Pro Tips
- Keep the yeast water lukewarm, never hot; water that’s too hot kills the yeast and the dough won’t rise.
- Knead a full five minutes to develop the gluten, which gives the crust its chew and stretch.
- Dock the rolled dough with fork holes to stop large bubbles and keep the crust from separating as it bakes.
Variations
- Freeze the extra dough balls, then thaw overnight in the fridge for a fast weeknight pizza.
- Pair it with a from-scratch pizza sauce, or brush the rim with garlic oil for a flavored crust.
Ingredients
Directions
I boil my water first then let it cool to the point to activate yeast with ¼ cup warm water.
Mix 3 cups flour with 2 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt in large mixing bowl.
Add another cup of the warm water to yeast mixture after yeast has activated, mix well then add to dry mixture again mix well, I use a wooden spoon until I need to go to my hands, then add the tablespoon of olive oil, then kneed for 5 minutes. Let rest for at least an hour in saran wrapped bowl.
Divide into 4 balls, for immediate use, use rolling pin to roll out dough to size of pan, I make my pizza pretty thin and make large pizzas (18” each) out of these 4 balls of dough.
Poke holes into dough to prevent from separation after baking do same if started to separate.
Build pizza and finish baking. Or freeze for future use.
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