Super Pizza Dough Recipes

THE BEST PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar; add yeast and whisk until dissolved. Let stand until bubbles form on surface. In a large bowl, whisk 3 cups flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and, if desired, dried herbs. Make a well in center; add yeast mixture and oil. Stir until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead, adding more flour to surface as needed until no longer sticky and dough is smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a large greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes; transfer bowl to refrigerator and chill overnight. Allow dough to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes, before rolling.

PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine the bread flour, sugar, yeast and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and combine. While the mixer is running, add the water and 2 tablespoons of the oil and beat until the dough forms into a ball. If the dough is sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is too dry, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth, firm ball.
• Grease a large bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, add the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm area to let it double in size, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cover each with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes.

SUPER QUICK PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Mix yeast in warm water until dissolved.
• Stir in oil and flour until it forms a dough ball.
• Cover bowl with a kitchen towel, place on top of your stove while the oven is warming up.
• Let rise for 15 minutes.
• Spread on pizza pan, jelly roll pan or baking stone (I've used them all).
• Top with your favorite sauce, meats, veggies, herbs and/or cheeses!

SUPER FAST AND EASY PIZZA DOUGH/ CRUST

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Add any other spices/herbs that you like.
• Stir in the very warm water and oil. Mix well.
• Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.
• Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rise about 10 minutes.
• Lightly oil one 14" or two 12" round pizza pans. Sprinkle with cornmeal.
• Form dough into smooth ball(s). Roll dough to fit the pan(s).
• Top with your favorite sauce and toppings.
• Bake at 400F for 20 to 30 minutes or until done.

SUPER SIMPLE PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Making and dividing the dough:.
• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and set aside (a Pyrex 2-cup measure makes for easy pouring; be sure the cup isn't cold). Meanwhile, put the flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade; process briefly to mix. With the machine running, add the water-yeast mixture in a steady stream. Turn the processor off and add the oil. Pulse a few times to mix in the oil.
• Scrape the soft dough out of the processor and onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, quickly knead the dough into a mass, incorporating any bits of flour or dough from the processor bowl that weren't mixed inches Cut the dough into four equal pieces with a knife or a dough scraper. Roll each piece into a tight, smooth ball, kneading to push the air out.
• Rising and storing the dough:.
• What you do next depends on whether you want to make pizza right way or at a later date.
• If you want to bake the pizzas as soon as possible, put the dough balls on a lightly floured surface, cover them with a clean dishtowel, and let them rise until they almost double in size, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, turn your oven on, with the baking stone in it, to let the stone fully heat.
• Use today:.
• In just 45 minutes, the dough is proofed. These dough balls are ready to be shaped.
• If you want to bake the pizzas tomorrow, line a baking sheet with a floured dishtowel, put the dough balls on it, and cover them with plastic wrap, giving them room to expand (they'll almost double in size), and let them rise in the refrigerator overnight.
• To use dough that has been refrigerated overnight, simply pull it out of the refrigerator about 15 minutes before shaping the dough into a pizza.
• To freeze the dough balls, dust each one generously with flour as soon as you've made it, and put each one in a separate zip-top bag. Freeze for up to a month.
• It's best to transfer frozen dough from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before (or 10 to 12 hours before) you want to use it. But I've found that dough balls pulled straight from the freezer and left to warm up on the counter will be completely defrosted in about 1-1/2 hours. The dough is practically indestructible.
• Shaping your pizza.
• Put the proofed or thawed ball of dough on a lightly floured wooden board. Sprinkle a little more flour on top of the ball. Using your fingertips, press the ball down into a flat cake about 1/2 inch thick.
• Lift the dough and lay it over the back of the fist of one hand. Put your other fist under the dough, right next to your first fist. Now gently stretch the dough by moving your fists away from each other (see Video). Each time you do this stretch, rotate the dough. Continue stretching and rotating until the dough is thin, about 1/4 inch, and measures about 9 inches across. Unless your dough is still cold from the freezer, it will be so soft that its own weight will stretch it out. Alternatively, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough thinly on a floured board. If you like a very thin pizza, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Be careful not to make it too thin, and remember that the thinner the pizza, the less topping it can handle.
• Rub a bit of flour onto a wooden pizza peel (or the back of a baking sheet). Gently lift the stretched dough onto the floured peel. Top the pizza, scattering the ingredients around to within 1/2 inch of the border.
• Topping your pizza.
• For some people, pizza isn't pizza without the scarlet of tomatoes peeking through the cheese, but there are many delicious savory combinations that show off fresh seasonal produce. It's better to use winter vegetables like greens or even canned tomatoes when fresh tomatoes are out of season.
• To get you started, here are two of my favorite ways to top a pizza - plus lots of suggestions for combinations to inspire your own designs.
• To make the Angeli Caffé's favorite, Pizza al Caprino - Over the shaped pizza, scatter 10 to 15 cloves roasted or slow-cooked garlic, 5 to 6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (drained and sliced), 3 ounces crumbled goat cheese, a few capers, and a pinch of oregano. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.
• To make a simple flatbread - Scatter sliced garlic (3 to 4 cloves), minced fresh rosemary (from 1 small sprig), and coarse salt over the dough. Make several 1/2-inch slashes to keep the dough from puffing up. Drizzle with lots of extra-virgin olive oil before baking, and garnish with Parmesan. Serve this delicious "Pizza Aglio e Olio" with a salad or cheese.
• To design your own pizza - Use any of these topping combinations to inspire your own creation. A generous drizzle of olive oil is a great addition to just about any pizza.
• Sautéed onions, fresh sage leaves, grated pecorino romano, grated Parmesan.
• Basil pesto, toasted pine nuts, slow-cooked garlic, grated Parmesan.
• Sautéed leeks, chopped artichoke hearts, a bit of crushed tomatoes, grated Parmesan.
• Italian Fontina, Gorgonzola, sun-dried tomatoes.
• Garlic, olives, capers, anchovies, and crushed tomatoes.
• Sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil.
• Thinly sliced prosciutto, ricotta, fresh basil, grated Parmesan.
• Cooked Italian sausage, sautéed onions, Italian Fontina, mozzarella.
• Sautéed mushrooms, thinly sliced cooked potatoes, Gorgonzola, crumbled cooked bacon or pancetta.
• Baking your pizza:.
• Put a pizza stone or unglazed terra-cotta tiles on the lowest rack of the oven and heat the oven to 500°F. Ideally, let the stone heat in the oven for an hour.
• Shake the peel (or baking sheet) gently back and forth to make sure the pizza isn't stuck. If it seems stuck, lift the edges up with a spatula and toss a bit of flour under the dough. Quickly slide the pizza onto the hot baking stone. Bake until the edges are golden, about 8 minute Using a peel, a wide spatula, or tongs, remove the pizza from the oven.

SUPER PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• put yeast packet in 1 cup of luke warm water.
• let it dissolve about 3 minutes.
• put flour, salt, white and brown sugar in a bowl mix slightly.
• pour in the 1 cup of water with the yeast in it.
• add 1/4 cup water to batch.
• mix ( using dough hook on mixer or by hand).
• pour in butter and honey
• mix or knead for 10 minutes or untill its smooth and elastic.
• put back in bowl and coat dough ball with a little olive oil and the sides of the bowl.
• put plastice wrap over bowl.
• let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours ( if you have time do 2- 1 1/2 hour rises punching down the dough after the first).
• heat oven to 425 and cook till slightly brown (about 6-9 minutes).
• put on favorite sauce and toppings and enjoy.

QUICK AND EASY PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

SUPER THIN PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Mix sugar & warm water, (I use a warm glass measuring cup) add yeast, stir, wait 10 minutes til a foam forms on top. Pour into large warm bowl, (rinse outside of bowl with warm water first).
• Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour, salt, and olive oil. Stir with wooden spoon until smooth and still a bit sticky. (Add flour only as needed to get a smooth dough that is still a bit sticky.) Put some flour on hands and spread rest on a wooden cutting board. Put dough on board and knead. I didn't know how to knead bread so I went to u-tube, the proper way is to use the heel of your hand to push the dough forward, then fold it over, rotate it a 1/4 turn and repeat. It also says to do this as quickly as possible, and DO NOT over knead it. 5 - 8 minutes is the most it ever takes. You will need to add flour, from the board, every so often because the dough is still a bit sticky, but again only as needed. You want to achive a moderately stiff dough, that is smooth and elastic.
• Put dough in a warm, greased bowl, cover with warm towel,and let rise 30 minutes. In the winter I put the whole bowl in my sink with some warm water because the air is chilly. After 30 minutes, remove the dough, divide it in half. Grease a pizza pan, and sprinkle with corn meal. Smooth the 1/2 dough ball onto your greased pizza pan, be patient you have to spread it really thin! , add sauce, mozzerella and toppings of your choice. Bake at 450 degrees 10 - 15 minutes. I actually use a Pizzaz pizza cooker and it works great. If you don't make 2 pizzas you can freeze the other in a ziploc bag. Be sure to grease it first, to keep it from sticking to the bag. It thaws quickly, with an hour or so.

SUPER THIN PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Weighing the flour and water is highly recommended as there are many factors that can affect the absorbent qualities of the flour.
• Mix flour, yeast, honey and salt in a food processor with a steel blade.
• Run the machine and add water and oil through the top, process for 30 seconds.
• You may need to add just a bit more water if the dough feels dry.
• Place the dough into a sealed container and refrigerate overnight.
• Set oven rack and pizza stone on lowest setting and preheat to 500 degrees.
• Remove dough from container and half.
• Place half on center of large sheet of parchment paper.
• Place large sheet of plastic wrap over dough and parchment.
• Allow dough to rise for 10 minutes.
• Roll the dough sandwiched between the parchment and plastic wrap trying to achieve an even thickness.
• The dough should be about 14 inches in diameter.
• Peel off plastic wrap and top as desired.
• Place the pizza with parchment on the pizza stone and bake for about 10 minutes.
• The parchment should slide out easily and allow for easy transfer to a cutting board.
• Let cool and serve.