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
The best flour for making Neapolitan Pizza Dough is 00 Pizza Flour. This type of pizza dough is thin and crispy with a slightly chewy texture. 00 Pizza Flour is an Italian-milled, finely ground wheat flour. It is perfect for Neapolitan Pizza Dough because it produces a light and airy crust with a slightly chewy centre.
Can I use 00 flour for pizza dough? ›
This soft, powder-like flour is perfect for creating that irresistibly airy, crispy crust. So while you can use type 00 flour for coatings, breadings, pasta and baked goods, type 00 flour really shines in the pizzeria as the foundation for superior pizzas, calzones and focaccia breads.
What are 2 important things to remember when making pizza dough from scratch? ›
Tips For Making Pizza Dough
- Stick to the basics of making dough: water, yeast, flour and salt.
- Double or triple the ingredients if you're feeding a larger crowd.
- Plan on at least 1 1/2 hours of rise time before shaping, topping, and baking.
- Get your oven as hot as it will go — at least 500°F.
- Keep the toppings basic.
All pizza styles are descended from the oil-free Italian Classical Neapolitan Pizza. Only flour, water, natural yeast, and salt are used in this recipe. 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.
What kind of yeast do Italians use for pizza? ›
The Best Yeast Flour For Neapolitan Pizza Dough
When it comes to pizza dough, it's essential to choose the right type of natural Neapolitan yeast. Most dough recipes call for instant or dry yeast, but the best kind for Naples pizza is the Italian -00- flour.
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.
Which yeast is best for pizza? ›
If you are a total beginner, we would recommend you to use either the instant dry yeast or the active dried yeast. They are both fairly easy to find and use, guaranteeing a great pizza dough.
What type of flour do chefs use for pizza dough? ›
Caputo "00" Bread Flour.
What is 00 flour not good for? ›
Protein and gluten
In the USA, flour is usually graded according to its gluten content, so many people make the mistake of assuming that 00 must be gluten-free. Sadly this is not the case, so if you're baking for coeliac sufferers or people with gluten allergies you should absolutely not use 00.
What flour is close to 00 flour? ›
If you can't find 00 flour but you really want to make homemade pizza crust or another recipe that calls for this ingredient, it's absolutely fine to use all-purpose flour. Use the same amount of all-purpose flour as 00 flour in the recipe.
The goal is for the pizza dough to easily slide off the peel and onto your waiting Baking Steel in the oven. The semolina flour acts as a ball bearing between the wood peel and the dough. In other words, it will help that dough stay "loose" on top.
What is the secret to a good pizza crust? ›
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 ...
What makes pizza dough taste better? ›
If you're keen to intensify its flavor even more, enhance the dough further – either with infused oil brushed over top, cheese woven into its edges or a combination of herbs and spices kneaded into it or sprinkled on it.
What is the most important ingredient in pizza dough? ›
It comes as no surprise that one of the most important ingredients in pizza dough is flour. So, selecting the most appropriate flour type (or types) will significantly impact the quality of your pizza dough. There are three commonly used types of flour.
What makes Italian pizza dough different? ›
Italians take extra care and time to create their pizza dough. They allow the dough to sit and rise for three days to make it light and fluffy. They're also very particular about using high-quality ingredients to create a mouthwatering dish.
What pizza flour is used in Italy? ›
“00” Farina di Grano Tenero mixed with Bread Flour for long rise, thin crust pizza (pizzeria style) “00” Farina di Grano Tenero for fresh, egg pasta.
What is real Italian pizza made of? ›
Some classic Italian ingredients such as Prosciutto San Daniele, Provolone, artichokes, Italian sausage, salami, black olives, anchovies and of course a few strands of fresh basil are the true 'wonder toppings' for an authentic Italian pizza.
What is traditional pizza dough made of? ›
All pizza dough starts with the same basic ingredients: flour, yeast, water, salt, and olive oil. Here's the breakdown of what I use in my homemade pizza crust recipe. The full printable recipe is below.
