Dawn’s Recipes » Blog Archive

Pizza Dough

Making your own pizza dough is very easy. You don’t have to knead the dough. Just stir the ingredients together and let it rise in the fridge over night. This recipe is based on the one in Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Bread Bible. I made some changes in the amount, because the original recipe makes a very small pizza. I also had no instant yeast, so I converted the recipe for use with active dry yeast instead. You can see more pizza photos using this recipe in my pizza party post.

Ingredients (weights are in parentheses):
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour (8 ounces)
1 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup water (5.5 ounces), about 100 to 115°F
About 2 tablespoons olive oil, for rising

Directions:
Stir the yeast into the water and let bloom while measuring the dry ingredients.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in medium-sized bowl. Make a well in the center, and pour in the water/yeast mixture. Gradually stir the flour into the water until all the flour is moistened and a dough just begins to form, about 20 seconds. It should come away from the bowl but still stick to it a little, and be a little rough looking. Do not overmix!

Pour a bit of oil into a large bowl or dough doubler. Swirl it around to coat the sides. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it a few times to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature about 30 minutes, or until slightly puffy. Place in the refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours.

About an hour before you want to start baking, take the dough out of the refrigerator. Place a baking stone (preferably a large round one) on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat to 475°F.

Lightly oil a large baking pan, such as a cookie sheet with no edges. Remove the dough from the bowl, and set it on the pan, shaping it into a smooth round by tucking under the edges. Allow to sit for 15 minutes, covered, to relax it.

Using your fingertips, press the dough from the center to the outer edge to stretch it into a 14-inch circle, leaving the outer 1/2 inch thicker than the rest to form a lip. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes, until it becomes light and slightly puffy with air.

Remove the plastic wrap and set the pan directly on the baking stone. Bake for 5 minutes.

Top the pizza as desired. (I used margherita sauce, mozzarella cheese, and several different topping combinations.)

Transfer the pizza to a pizza peel, then slide directly onto the baking stone (no pan, in other words) and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.

Cut into 8 slices and serve.

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