I have made pizza dough before, but something always seemed to go amiss. My first try was back in 2017. But it was only recently, after a wee bit of reading up that I got my yeast right. The pizza dough was a special one to cook during the Quarantine and I even did a wheat one, so I am pretty happy with myself. I had loads of help reading about yeast on Kitchn.
Toppings? Well, the regulars that you have in the fridge, tomatoes, onion, capsicum, sweet corn. But I also did one with thinly sliced potatoes and sweet, caramelized onions. Read about my previous experience from 2017 here and pan pizza.
Ingredients for the Pizza Dough
- All-purpose flour/ Maida – 4 cups + more to dust (for 4-5 6″ pizzas)
- Salt – 2 tsp
- Olive oil – 2 tbsp + more to drizzle
- Active Dry Yeast – I used 1 sachet of 15g
- Sugar – 2 tsp
- Lukewarm water – 1-1/2 cups
Activating the yeast
THIS IS THE IMPORTANT BIT. I have read a lot of recipes where they just dunk in the yeast in the dough. You can’t do that if you are not using instant yeast. But if you are, you don’t have to activate the yeast.
- Lukewarm water, how warm is warm? The best way I can describe it is, that it should be hot enough that you can feel the heat but still can keep your finger in it! Or 35 degrees.
- In a large bowl, add the sugar, that’s the yeast’s food so be generous.
- Add the yeast and top it with the water.
- Your yeast will start bubbling away in about 2 minutes. Let it stand for 5 minutes after you add the water to the yeast before adding it to the flour.
Coming to the actual Dough
You can you a hand blender with dough hooks, a food processor, or with your hands. I used a food processor.
- Mix the flour, salt and olive oil all together.
- Add the yeast mixture and pulse for about 4-5 minutes. You wouldn’t need to add more water.
- Take it out on a dusted flat surface or pastry board. Knead the dough for another 5 minutes until you have a smooth ball.
- Drizzle a clean, HUGE bowl with oil, place the dough in, cover the pizza dough in the oil, cover with cling film and let it rise for a minimum of 2 hours. Make sure you leave your dough out in a warm place.
- I forgot to take a picture of the before, but it rose to about 4 times!
- Knead the dough again and rest for 20 minutes before you start making the pie.
Cooking the pizza
I didn’t use a rolling pin to make the pies but used my hand to stretch the dough. Cooked the pizza at 220 degree Celcius for about 15-20 minutes each until the cheese is bubbly. The crust is slightly crunchy and yet beautifully pliable! I used the sauce right out of a jar, but you can check out a sauce I made previously here.
Fool proof pizza dough
Ingredients
- 500 g All purpose flour + more for dusting
- 2 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Olive oil + more to drizzle
- 15 g Yeast
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 1½ cups Lukewarm water
Instructions
- Mix the flour, salt and olive oil all together.
- Add the yeast mixture and pulse for about 4-5 minutes. You wouldn’t need to add more water.
- Take it out on a dusted flat surface or pastry board. Knead the dough for another 5 minutes until you have a smooth ball.
- Drizzle a clean, HUGE bowl with oil, place the dough in, cover the pizza dough in the oil, cover with cling film and let it rise for a minimum of 2 hours. Make sure you leave your dough out in a warm place.
- Knead the dough again and rest for 20 minutes before you start making the pie.
- I didn’t use a rolling pin to make the pies but used my hand to stretch the dough. Cooked the pizza at 220 degree Celcius for about 15-20 minutes each until the cheese is bubbly.
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