Many people become anxious about the thought of making pizza dough. Visiting a pizzeria and seeing the person in front of the flaming oven, tossing large disks of dough through the air might make those who haven’t done it a bit nervous of the thought. But with a little bit of time and a few pieces of kitchen gear, the process becomes nearly a non-issue. This recipe is very simple, but delivers the best crust I have come across in two decades of fiddling with the recipe.
Special Equipment
A large pizza stone for the oven, a 14″ pizza screen, food thermometer, a pizza peel (or a very large spatula), a KitchenAid (or similar) stand mixer with a dough hook.
Ingredients
- 500 grams high protein flour (“00” pizza flour or other flour with at least 12.7% protein), plus a few extra tablespoons to dust the work surface
- 300 ml water at 110° F (Increase to 325 ml in cool or dry air)
- 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 packet quick-rise dry yeast
- Non-stick spray
Directions
In a medium bow, combine the flour with the salt. In a large measuring cup, combine the 110° F water with the packet of yeast and stir in.
Combine the yeast water with the flour-salt mixture and stir together with a spoon until the majority of the flour has come off the sides of the bowl.
Transfer the dough to the stand mixer equipped with a dough hook, and set it to knead the dough on the #2 (slow) speed for ten minutes.
Remove the dough and roll into an approximately symmetrical log for portioning. The ingredient amounts given in this recipe is adequate for three 14″ thin crust pizzas. Cut the log into thirds.
Select individual bowls for the number of portions you create, and lightly spray non-stick cooking spray into the bowls to allow easy release when preparing to shape. Take each portion and roll the dough into balls for rising, place into the bowls, and cover with plastic wrap to rise for two hours.
After two hours have elapsed, you should now have dough balls that have doubled or tripled in size.
Preheat the oven to Max for your oven (usually 500 – 550° F for home units) with the pizza stone at the lowest shelf position. If your oven has the option of upper or lower burner (“high Bake” and/or “Low Bake”), use the lower option. Allow the stone a full 30 minutes to soak up heat before using for best results.
Dust the freshly cleaned work surface with a tablespoon or so of flour. Take a portion of the dough and place it on the surface, and dust the top of the dough as well with a small amount of flour. With your fingertips, work around the perimeter of the dough, leaving a small amount of edge to remain “proud.” Leave the center of the dough alone; don’t flatten it, as it will reduce on its own as the edges are expanded. After going around once, flip the dough over and repeat.
When you have finished going around the perimeter on both sides, gently stretch the outer crust as if you’re passing a garden hose through your hands. Here is a video from Epicurious showing the process.
When the pizza crust has reached the desired size, place the dough on a pizza screen for ease of transferring it into the oven without the difficulty of shaking it off a peel in a hot oven.
NOTE: You absolutely can use a peel in the traditional manner if you are comfortable doing it. I have made pizza for many years and have no problems doing so, and in fact I find the results are slightly better when the dough is in direct contact with the stone, however for the purposes of Eating Plebian, a pizza screen is a more than adequate tool.
When the pizza has been topped, place into the oven on the pizza stone. Depending on your oven, it should be cooked in 8 to 12 minutes. Rotate the pizza around half way after 5 to 6 minutes of cooking to ensure an even baking. Use a peel to remove the screen and pizza to cool for a few minutes before handling, cutting and serving.
