Today I am sharing my recipe for Italian Pizza Dough that I have been using for years. I started to make pizza and pizza dough many many moons ago. My earliest memories of making pizza go way back to my middle school days. I can still remember one of my first attempts being a disappointment because I put way too much cheese on the pizza. Seriously, the ratio was soooooo off and the cheese so thick. If it was cold and flipped upside down, the slice would not have flopped. Now that’s some serious cheesiness.
Since then my ratios and pizza making skills have improved tremendously. The Italian pizza dough recipe I am sharing today is one that I found all them years ago while in middle school. Since then I have made slight tweaks, here or there, based on years of experience. As well as trial and error. However, the recipe is virtually unchanged and been a staple in repertoire.
SCROLL DOWN FOR ADDITIONAL TIPS AND TRICKS
The Dough
The dough starts out pretty basic. Simply use water, yeast, sugar, salt, oil and flour. What makes this dough different from any other is not so much the ingredients. It’s the technique.
To start the dough you will need to bloom the yeast. To accomplish this, use warm water a packet of dry yeast and sugar. The yeast will bloom in about five minutes. You’ll see this happen when a layer of foam develops at the top of the water. No foam? Either your water was too cold and did not activate. Or the water was too hot and you killed the yeast, you monster!
Once the yeast has bloomed, move the liquid to a mixing bowl if by hand or your stand mixer bowl if by machine. Add one cup of the flour and begin to mix. Once the flour is incorporated, add your salt and oil here. You add the salt as this point and not before to protect the yeast. Salt kills yeast and adding it after some flour keeps them from fighting. Adding the oil now helps condition and soften the dough. The oil helps make an easy working dough that is terrific to handle.
The Feel
Now add the remaining flour until your create the proper feel. At this point it is not about the amount of flour listed in the recipe. It’s all about the dough telling you how much flour it needs today. The amount of flour needed is based off more than just the amount of water used. The type and brand of flour affects feel. Humidity, temp and time all play a part as well. To stay from getting too technical what you want to create is a dough that is nice and soft, slightly tacky, but not sticky. You should be able to press your fingers lightly into the dough and pull them back with the dough slightly sticking to your fingers, but releasing and not leaving tiny bits.
Once the right feel is achieved, knead the dough for roughly 5-8 minutes by machine and 10-12 minutes by hand. You should end up with a ball of dough that is nice and soft, but smooth like a baby’s bottom. At least that’s what my old professors used to say. Just knead the dough until it is nice and smooth.
Now, roll the dough into a nice ball and place in a covered bowl until the dough doubles in size. Approximately 45 minutes to an hour.
Professional Tips and Tricks For Italian Pizza Dough
- To develop flavor, start with cooler water. This will allow you to retard the dough in the fridge for a few days. Allowing the dough to rest and ferment (retard) in the fridge for an extended time develops a deeper flavor.
- The fermentation period will also allow the dough to develop added texture and chewiness when baked. Most popular pizzerias and bakeries allow their dough to ferment overnight, if not longer.
The Only Italian Pizza Dough Recipe You'll Need
Crispy, chewy and oh so tasty. This Italian Pizza Dough recipe is so good it's the only one I need. Once you try it, it will be the only one you need too.
Servings: 1 Recipe
Author: Nate
Ingredients
- 1 1/3cupfiltered water
- 1pktdry active yeast
- 1tbspsugar
- 2.5tbspoilive oil
- 1tbspkosher salt
- 3cupbread flour, high proteinapproximate amount
Instructions
Bloom yeast in warm water with dissolved sugar.
Allow yeast to bloom until a thick foam has developed on top of water.
Add liquid to mixing bowl and add 1 cup of flour and combine well.
Once the first cup of flour is incorporated, add the salt and oil. Combine.
Now add the remaining flour until that soft, slightly tacky dough is achieved. Focus on the feel.
Proof until dough has doubled in size. Approximately 45 minutes to an hour.
Related
FAQs
Mix flour and salt in a large bowl. Mix olive oil into flour and stir for 2 minutes. Pour yeast mixture and beaten egg into flour mixture and stir to make a stiff dough. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until springy and smooth, about 8 minutes.
What's the difference between pizza dough and Italian bread dough? ›
The water percentage in pizza is 60% in hydration, while some bread dough can be 80-90%. While higher hydration levels in pizza dough can make it fluffy and crispier, it'll be impossible to shape. It will burn faster as well. The hydration levels will also affect the baking time drastically.
How to make pizza dough Mario Batali? ›
Batali mixes together flour, yeast, extra virgin olive oil, and "blood temperature" water (that's 96-98.6 degrees) for a perfect crust. A couple tablespoons of sugar helps activate the yeast and makes for a crispier crust. There's no way around it: Kneading your dough by hands will give it the best texture.
Do you need to Prebake homemade pizza dough? ›
Pro Tips: Pre-Bake Dough, if cooking pizza in the oven. If you're baking the pizza in the oven, whether on a pizza stone or not, I always pre-bake the dough for 4-5 minutes before adding toppings, to make sure the pizza dough cooks crisp on the outside and soft and airy in the middle.
What is the 55 rule for pizza? ›
A rule of thumb is the so-called “rule 55” that is the sum of the room, flour (by convention it equals room temperature) and water temperatures in degrees Celsius.
What flour do Italians use for pizza? ›
In Italy, 00 flour is the gold standard for Neapolitan pizza—the thin, crispy-yet-flexible Italian pizza from Naples—and fresh pasta, largely due to its gluten content.
Does bread flour make better pizza dough? ›
The second most common type of flour used when making pizza dough, and most people's go-to for homemade pizza dough is bread flour. Bread flour has a higher amount of gluten and protein than all-purpose flour. The high gluten content in this flour creates a very structured dough allowing for stretching and rising.
What are the two types of pizza dough? ›
The Different Types of Pizza Dough You Can Choose From
- Neapolitan Pizza. Neapolitan pizza dough is the classic Italian style of pizza dough. ...
- 48-hour Fermented Pizza Dough. ...
- Sourdough Pizza Dough. ...
- New York Style Pizza. ...
- 100% Biga Pizza Dough. ...
- The Bottomline.
Focaccia bread is a popular Italian flatbread that makes an ideal base for pizza. Thick, hearty focaccia stands up well to heavy toppings and has lots of holes and dimples to trap melted cheese and sauce. Focaccia dough is made from bread flour, olive oil, salt, yeast, and warm water.
What is the trick to good pizza dough? ›
There are many tricks to achieving a tasty, homemade pizza dough that rises into a beautiful pizza crust, such as making sure your ingredients are at right temperature, using half bread flour for a stronger dough and half all-purpose flour for a nice rise, substituting honey for sugar to help caramelize the crust and ...
If you've been looking for the secret to crafting a magnificent homemade pizza, then look no further! The answer lies in poking holes into your dough. A dinner fork is perfect for creating these tiny perforations and will result in an extraordinarily crunchy crust that your family won't soon forget.
How to make Giuseppe pizza? ›
Baking instructions : 1 Keep frozen until ready to bake. 2 Remove pizza from carton and remove all packaging. Crispy crust Preheat oven to 425°F (220 °C) Place frozen pizza directly on middle oven rack. Bake 20 - 23 minutes Soft crust Preheat oven to 425°F (220 °C) Place frozen pizza on a lightly greased baking sheet.
What not to do to pizza dough? ›
The Most Common Mistakes When Making Pizza
- Not Letting the Dough Rest. ...
- Not Kneading the Dough for Long Enough. ...
- Using a Rolling Pin to Form the Dough. ...
- Overloading Pizza Toppings. ...
- Not Letting the Pizza Cook for Long Enough.
If you're making pizza now: Let the dough rise for an hour to an hour and a half. Then proceed with making your pizzas right away. If you're making pizza later: Cover the dough with cling wrap and keep it in the refrigerator for up to three days until you're ready to use it.
What cheese goes on pizza? ›
Best cheese for pizza
- Mozzarella. Perhaps the most well-known and popular pizza topping of all-time, Mozzarella is cherished for its near perfect consistency and straightforward flavour. ...
- Cheddar/Matured Cheddar. ...
- Aged Havarti. ...
- Gorgonzola. ...
- Provolone. ...
- Goat cheese. ...
- Pecorino-Romano. ...
- The ultimate cheese pizza.
Italian pizza dough is flattened out thinly to form a thin crust. American pizza dough is made with all-purpose flour or bread flour which are high in gluten. Resting time for the dough is typically a few hours. The dough is kneaded for a longer time than Italian pizza to give it a more bready texture.
Do Italians put oil in pizza dough? ›
Almost all other pizza styles established by Italian ancestors and others call for the use of oil or fat. Olive oil is used in all Italian dishes to add taste. Other oil kinds, on the other hand, are swapped or substituted to change the flavor of olive oil. This could otherwise destroy a certain pizza style.
What is traditional pizza dough made of? ›
All pizza dough starts with the same basic ingredients: flour, yeast, water, salt, and olive oil.
What is real Italian pizza made of? ›
A traditional Italian pizza would just resort to some fresh basil leaves which, together with the red tomato sauce and the white Mozarella di Bufala cheese complete the tri-colour of the Italian flag. However, depending upon the mood, one can sprinkle some oregano and fresh olive oil for a hint of spice.
