The Only Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe You'll Ever Need

• Ingredients
• Step-by-Step Guide
  • Step 1: Combining Dry Ingredients
  • Step 2: Add and Mix the Wet Ingredients
  • Step 3: The First Knead
  • Step 4: The First Fermentation (Bulk Rise)
  • Step 5: Cold Fermentation (Flavor Steps)
  • Step 6: Awakening the Dough
  • Step 7: Making the Pizza
• Common Mistakes to Avoid in Baking Pizza
• Hint Sheet
• Storing and Leftovers Instructions
• Concluding Remarks

Ingredients

You may already have the following items in your home or you can pick them up at a supermarket. Place the ingredient in bowls at right so that you can begin assembling your pizza in front of you on the counter: Pour 12 ounces of white flour into a bowl and place it on the left of your work surface.

• 500 grams (about 3 ¾ cups) flour "00" or all-purpose flour, and extra for dusting
• 10 grams (about 2 teaspoons) fine sea salt
• 3 grams (about 1 teaspoon) instant dry yeast
• 325 grams (about 1 ? cups) lukewarm water (about 95-105°F / 35-40°C)
• 15 grams (about 1 tablespoon) extra-virgin olive oil

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Combining Dry Ingredients

Take your measuring bowl and dump in the flour. Using a whisk, lightly shake it around to stir in air. The flour should be fluffy, making the other ingredients easier to work with. Add sea salt and instant dry yeast into the bowl. Whisk everything together for about 30 seconds. You need to ensure that the yeast and salt are distributed evenly throughout the flour before liquid is added. If you dump them in one spot, salt can prevent yeast from functioning. Your objective is to have a uniform mixture of all dry ingredients.

Step 2: Add and Mix the Wet Ingredients

Make a well in the center of your flour mixture. Pour the lukewarm water and olive oil into this well. Using a fork or wooden spoon, gradually work the flour into the liquid from the sides of the well. Mix until there's no more dry flour left at the bottom of the mixing bowl, and a shaggy, rough dough begins to form. It will not look smooth yet and that's perfectly fine. At this stage, the main thing is to make sure everything is mixed so that all ingredients are hydrated.

Step 3: The First Knead

Now, the untidy dough is turned out onto a work surface that has been lightly dusted with flour. Now it's time to knead. This process develops the gluten, which gives the dough its distinctive structure and chewiness. Push the dough away from you with the heel of your hand, then fold it over on itself and give it a quarter turn. Repeat this motion of pushing, folding, and turning for about 8 to 10 minutes. At first, the dough will be sticky and a mess. Don't add too much extra flour; a little dusting on your hands and countertop is plenty. Though you’re kneading it, the dough changes in your hands. Grades of improvement are that it becomes smoother, more elastic, and finally less sticky. When it feels supple and springs back slowly to the touch, you'll know it's ready.

Step 4: The First Fermentation (Bulk Rise)

Rub a small amount of olive oil onto a clean, large bowl. Mold your kneaded dough into a ball and place it in the bowl. Turn it over once, to coat the entire surface with a thin layer of oil. Then put plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel tightly over the bowl. Put the bowl in a warm spot or a draft-free location in your kitchen. Let it rise for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours, or until it has doubled in volume. The ideal temperature is approximately 75-80°F (24-27°C). If your kitchen is cool, you can put the bowl in an oven with just the light on for a slightly warmer environment.

Step 5: Cold Fermentation (Flavor Steps)

This is the key to good flavor. Once the dough has doubled, gently deflate it by pressing down evenly. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and mark it in half with a bench scraper or knife. Then form each half into a smooth ball, taking care not to let any new folds show on the surface of your dough rounds. Each piece should be placed in its own airtight container or a zip-top bag that has been lightly oiled. Alternatively, you can put them on an oiled sheet pan before sealing them tightly in plastic wrap, if desired.

Put the containers in the refrigerator and let the dough rest for at least half a day. This is for cold fermentation. Yeast activity slows way down, and the dough starts to pick up deeper, complex flavors through this process. You can leave it in there for up to three days. The longer you let it sit, the richer it will become.

Step 6: Awakening the Dough

Two to three hours before you plan to make pizzas, take the dough out of the refrigerator. Place it, still in its container and under a floured linen cloth, on a surface. Allow it to warm up. This is an incredibly important step; cold dough is stiff, tough, and difficult to stretch. Warming the dough relaxes the gluten and makes it flexible and easy to shape without tearing. The dough relaxes and swells during this time, too.

Step 7: Making the Pizza

When you wish to make a pizza, preheat your oven to its maximum heat (usually 500-550°F / 260-290°C) for 45-60 minutes.

With each in hand, carefully position the dough on a scrupulously floured surface. Now using your fingertips, softly press down the middle, and work outwards, but still retain a one-inch border around the edge. This is to be your puffy crust. If you have a small, flat disc, pick it up. Let it rest on your knuckles and meanwhile gently stretch from left to right, turning the dough as needed. Gravity will make sure it receives some air. You should not use a rolling pin, which will compress all those air bubbles we have worked so hard to create. Keep stretching—the goal is a round, 10-12 inch circumference.

Now the shaped dough should rest in a piece of parchment paper or flour-covered pizza peel.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Baking Pizza

• Using Cold Water: It doesn't matter what you think—yesterday (or even today) should be warm enough to wake a baby. Water that is too cold won't warm it up, and consequently your dough will not rise. On the other hand, water that is too hot can kill it. Lukewarm—like a baby's bath—is just right.
• Adding Too Much Flour While Kneading: A sticky dough is scary to knead, and the temptation is to add more flour to control it. Nonetheless, you mustn't knead so many flours into it that it results in a dry and somewhat rubbery crust. Keep faith with the process of kneading; the stickiness should lessen as gluten develops. A little flour on your hands is not bad, but not even a cupful working into the dough.
• Skipping the Cold Fermentation: You may have finished kneading your dough after the second stage of rising, but let it sit in the fridge if you don't want to miss out on an amazing flavor for your pizza. There is where it develops character and that pizzeria-taste which we all recognize. These temperatures to effect such an alteration require patience—an ingredient all its own.
• Using a Rolling Pin: A rolling pin destroys fluffy dough. If the pin works here long enough—or even worse, puffy pastry without baking powder—is flattened, it presses all the gas bubbles out that yeast is trying to create. Gentle like playdough, you work with your hands and fingertips to stretch the dough.

Hint Sheet

• Weigh Your Ingredients: For the best results, weigh your flour and water with a kitchen scale. Volume measurements alone, such as cups, can vary in flour amount depending on how it's packed.
• Use "00" Flour: While all-purpose flour will produce a good crust, Italian "00" flour is ground to an extremely fine texture. It contains specific amounts of protein that help produce a crust which is crunchy and chewy at the same time.
• Get Your Oven Hot: A blazing hot oven is essential for "oven spring." Oven spring is the rapid rise of the crust as soon as it hits the high heat. A preheated pizza stone or steel is a must because it transfers a burst of intense heat directly into the bottom of the dough and creates a crisp base.
• One Topping is Enough: Less is more when it comes to toppings. Too much cheese and tomato sauce will weigh down the dough, making the center of the pie less aromatic and fresh.

Storing and Leftovers Instructions

This recipe is perfect for make-ahead purposes. The unbaked dough balls can be refrigerated in air-tight containers for up to 3 days. The flavor improves with age.

You can freeze the dough. After the first rise, form the dough into balls. Lightly oil each ball and place in its own freezer bag. Try to expel as much air as possible. When sealed, the dough will keep nicely in the freezer for up to three months. When thawing, allow the dough to come slowly to room temperature; it takes about 3 hours and then the dough can be shaped. To use: thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator, then let it sit for 2-3 hours at room temperature before shaping.

Concluding Remarks

Making pizza dough from scratch is one of the most satisfying things that you can do in the kitchen. With four basic ingredients and a lot of patience, however, it is possible to create a crust that rivals any pizzeria fare. This recipe serves as a starting point. So crank up your oven, procure your favorite toppings, and get ready for a taste that you will not forget—the real McCoy of pizza. Tell me in the comments how your pizza turns out.