Pizza dough

Pizza dough

1 h 25 min
Every great pizza starts with homemade pizza dough. Whether you like your crust thin or thick, we have the best pizza dough recipe for you to try at home using any toppings you like. It is a great recipe for beginners that only requires a handful of ingredients and produces a crispy crust. You do not need to go to Italy when you can bring Italy to you with this delicious pizza base.
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Instructions

  • Crumble the yeast and dissolve it in lukewarm water.
  • Add flour, oil, sugar, and salt. Knead the dough until smooth and flexible for approx. 8 minutes.
  • Cover the dough with cling film and let it rise in a warm place for ½ hour.
  • Turn the dough onto a table and tighten it into 1 large ball. Let the dough rise covered with cling film for ½ hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 275°C (regular oven) and place a baking tray in the oven.
  • Press and shape the dough into a pizza base (approx. 35 cm in diameter). Put the base on a sheet of baking paper and spread the filling on it.
  • Pull the pizza onto the hot baking tray and bake it in the middle of the oven for about 12-14 minutes at 275°C until the crust is crispy and the filling is golden.
Enjoy!
Tips

This recipe for pizza dough gives you one big pizza, but you can easily make two smaller ones instead. Divide the dough into 2 balls, press them flat, and stretch them until they have a diameter of 25 cm. If you wish to freeze the pizza bases, simply place a sheet of baking paper between them and put them into a big freezer bag. When you what to make pizzas, allow the pizza bases to thaw in the fridge and afterwards, let them rise for about 15 minutes on the kitchen counter before spreading the filling on top.

Tips

When working on the pizza dough, keep it warm and allow it enough time to rest. This will prevent holes and tears. In case it does happen, you can fix the holes or tears by pinching the dough together. You can even let it rest for 10 minutes after mixing all the ingredients and before the 8 minutes of kneading. This will make the flour absorb the flour and develop the gluten network, and in the end, make a better dough. Do not use a rolling pin to flatten and shape your pizza bases, as this method pushes out the gas created by the yeast, and you will end up with a dense and hard crust.

Questions about pizza dough

If you are looking for an easy pizza dough recipe, you have come to the right place. With our recipe, you can achieve an amazing base and a crispy crust for your pizza. Read below and find out how to make pizza dough from scratch, how to stretch pizza dough and much more.

How to make pizza dough?
Make a quick pizza dough with only a few ingredients. Combine all the components and knead the dough until it is smooth and flexible. Then cover the dough with cling film and let it rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Shape and tighten the dough into a large ball before covering it with cling film once again, allowing it to rise for an additional 30 minutes. Press and shape the dough into a pizza base and spread the filling on top. Bake the pizza in a preheated oven at 275°C until the crust is crispy.
Can you freeze pizza dough?
Store your homemade pizza dough in the freezer for up to 3 months. Freezing pizza dough is a great way to save time, and you always have dough at hand whenever you fancy a homemade pizza. After the dough has been kneaded and risen, coat it with a thin layer of oil, pop it into a freezer bag, and squeeze out all the air before sealing the bag tight. Thaw the dough slowly by placing it in the fridge and allow the dough to defrost overnight.
How to stretch a pizza dough?
There are several ways to stretch pizza dough, but a common trait is that it works best with warm dough. Allow the dough to warm up to room temperature before stretching it. Place your dough on a flour-covered kitchen counter and press it down to flatten it. Now, for the record player stretch, a method used by most professional pizza chefs, place both your hands flat in the centre of the dough and rotate it like a record while pulling your hands in the opposite direction, resulting in a flat, even, and perfectly round base for your pizza toppings. Other methods for stretching the dough include fingertip stretch, steering wheel stretch, and knuckle stretch.
How long does pizza dough last in the fridge?
The pizza dough can last 3-5 days in the fridge when stored properly. Depending on the amount of yeast used for the dough, it will have a longer or shorter shelf life in the fridge as the yeast is going to ferment. The less yeast used, the longer the dough can keep in the refrigerator. If the dough has an off smell like alcohol, a dry and flaky texture, a greyish colour, or specks of orange, it is no longer usable and should be thrown out.
How to store pizza dough?
Store the pizza dough in the fridge in an airtight container, wrapped in cling film, placed in a freezer bag, or a bowl covered with cling film or foil. Keeping the pizza dough chilled is important as this will slow down the natural fermentation process. Make sure you do not leave the dough out at room temperature too long; otherwise, the yeast will consume the sugar in the dough, and your pizza will not rise.

Ingredients

Yeast
10 g
Lukewarm water
150 ml
Pizza flour, for example, Tipo 00
200 g
Olive oil
½ tbsp
Sugar
¼ tsp
Coarse salt
¼ tsp
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Easy homemade pizza dough

Making pizza dough from scratch is usually no easy feat, but it can be with our recipe for pizza dough that yields the best homemade pizza from start to finish. This recipe is super easy to throw together with only a few ingredients and simple steps. Skip the pizza delivery and learn how to make a crispy crust that turns out perfect every time. Spread your favourite filling on top and enjoy a delicious slice of homemade pizza.

Explore more amazing Italian-inspired recipes for bruschetta made with ripe tomatoes, garlic, oil and basil on top of toasted Italian bread, classic focaccia topped with rosemary, oil, and flaky salt, and for dessert a simple and soft vanilla-flavoured panna cotta with berry coulis.

Choose the best flour

The best type of flour to use for your pizza dough is Tipo 00, a finely ground Italian wheat flour. 00 flour is considered the golden standard for pizza flour and is traditionally used to make both pizza dough and pasta. Because the flour is so fine, it makes for a more responsive and elastic dough that will not tear as easily when shaped thin. The perfect combination of sturdy and delicate makes this flour perfect for creating delicious crispy pizza crusts with a slight but pleasant chew on the inside, as well as a nice open and airy structure.

Look at the protein level to find the best pizza flour. The higher the better and it should preferably not be less than 12 g of protein pr. 100 g. This will make for a stronger gluten structure, which will then make a more stretchable pizza.

What to make with pizza dough

You can easily make a classic Neapolitan margarita pizza with homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh basil, and virgin oil spread on top of the pizza base. However, pizza dough is very versatile, and it does not necessarily have to end with a pizza. There are so many different and equally delightful ways to enjoy the dough.

If you have any small scrap of dough left, use it to make crackers by rolling the dough really thin and brushing it with a thin layer of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake the crackers for a few minutes and break them into smaller pieces after cooling. Similarly, you can roll the dough into long, skinny breadsticks and bake them until they are golden. It makes for a great snack that you can enjoy between meals.

Ever wanted to try an enclosed pizza? Make a calzone by spreading your filling on half of the pizza base and folding the other half over the filling. A big crispy, golden-brown pocket filled with melted cheese, sauce, and any filling of your choosing. There are endless possibilities with this pizza dough; give it a try!

Experiment with the recipe

The type of flour you choose ultimately depends on which pizza style you want to end up with. As each flour has its own characteristic traits, you can create different kinds of crusts for your pizza. For example, for a more textured crust, swap out about 50 g of the pizza flour with whole wheat flour, or use all-purpose flour to get a crispy crust. All-purpose flour is especially great when trying to achieve a thin pizza crust because the dough will not rise as high as when using other types of flour.

To obtain a thick and fluffy dough with crispy edges, try bread flour. This flour is very easy to work with and is often used to create a crispy crust while being slightly chewy on the inside. If you love a thin crust, use almond flour combined with buckwheat flour to add flavour and structure to the dough.

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