Pizza dough
This is an Italian-style pizza base with a puffy rim, a crisp outside and a chewy, tender inside full of little air holes. The dough uses very little yeast and a long rise, so it has a pronounced wheaty aroma; just add tomato sauce and cheese, bake it really hot, and you've got a pizzeria-style pie.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Rising or chilling
- 2 hr 30 min
- Total time
- 3 hr 10 min
- Method
- Oven-baked
Ingredients
Pizza dough
Dusting and shaping oil
Instructions
Step 1
Dissolve 3 g instant yeast and 4 g granulated sugar in 325 g cool water, pour it over 500 g bread flour in a large bowl and stir roughly, then add 12 g salt and 15 g olive oil. Adding the salt last keeps it from slowing down the yeast right at the start. Stop stirring once the dough has come together into a shaggy mass with no dry flour left.
Step 2
Knead the dough on a clean counter for about ten minutes, stretching it out and folding it back over itself again and again. Thorough kneading builds a strong gluten network so the base can stretch thin without tearing. The dough is ready when the surface is silky smooth and a small piece stretches into a thin, almost translucent windowpane.
Step 3
Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for about an hour and a half. A long rise develops flavor and relaxes the gluten. The dough is ready when it has nearly doubled and a few air bubbles have appeared on the surface.
Step 4
Divide the dough into three equal pieces, fold the edges into the center, then flip each one seam side down and rotate it on the counter into a tight ball. A taut ball holds gas better and stretches easily into an even circle. The balls are ready when the tops are smooth and the seams are tucked neatly underneath.
Step 5
Set the dough balls on a tray sprinkled with a little to taste semolina, cover them well and let them rest for about 45 minutes more. This rest makes the dough softer and easier to stretch. The balls are ready when they've visibly puffed up and a gentle poke springs back slowly.
Step 6
Put an upside-down baking sheet or a pizza stone on the middle rack and preheat the oven to 250°C for at least thirty minutes. A blazing-hot baking surface crisps the bottom of the pizza in just a few minutes. The oven is ready when it has reached temperature and the sheet is evenly hot all over.
Step 7
Sprinkle more semolina on the counter, press the dough out from the center with your fingertips, leaving a rim of about two centimeters, then lift it onto the backs of your hands and stretch it into a circle of about 28 cm. Skip the rolling pin so you don't press the air out of the rim. The base is ready when the center is evenly thin, almost thin enough to see light through, while the rim stays thick and puffy.
Step 8
Set the base on parchment paper, brush it lightly with to taste olive oil, add sauce and your favorite toppings, then slide it quickly onto the hot sheet and bake at 250°C for about 7 to 10 minutes. The high heat makes the rim puff up dramatically before the base has a chance to dry out. The pizza is done when the rim is golden brown with a few charred spots and the bottom is crisp and sounds hollow when tapped.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking sheet
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowl
- Bench scraper
- Plastic wrap
- Parchment paper
Tips
- For deeper flavor, you can let the dough balls rest in the fridge for one to three days, then leave them out for about two hours before stretching.
- Don't pile on too much sauce or wet toppings, or the center of the base will turn soggy and never get crisp.
- If your home oven only reaches 230°C, stretch the base a little thicker and bake for an extra two to three minutes.
Storage
Unbaked dough balls can be wrapped tightly and kept in the fridge for up to three days, or frozen for up to a month and thawed overnight in the fridge. Baked crusts are best eaten the same day while they're still crisp.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The base keeps shrinking back every time you stretch it.
- The gluten is still tight because the dough hasn't rested long enough. Cover the base with a towel, wait ten more minutes and try again; the dough will soften and stretch.
- The bottom of the pizza is pale and floppy.
- The baking sheet or stone wasn't hot enough. Preheat the oven longer and move the sheet one rack closer to the bottom heating element.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
