Pizza Dough
Flour, yeast, water, and salt are the essential ingredients for preparing pizza dough at home and of all tastes and shapes: from round home-made pizza to plate, to the classic Pizza in a pan cooked in a home oven; to the Neapolitan pizza with “cornicione”, to the crunchy and thin Roman one; to stuffed calzones, fried pizza, and many other specialties.
The first thing to consider when preparing the pizza dough is to choose whether to us a direct method or an indirect method. The direct method is the simplest to make and consists of putting all the ingredients of the dough in a single phase (always respecting the following order: flour, water, brewer’s yeast, then the gluten is left to form, and then the salt and the fat part).
1. Right Flour
Then you choose the type of flour to use. There are various types of flour, but the most used type is 00 flour even if it is not the most recommended if you want a tasty and digestible pizza.
2. Yeast to use
You can use both fresh yeast (cube) and dry yeast in granules! They are the same thing. It is recommended to use dehydrated dry yeast. Mainly because there is no risk that it may have experienced sudden changes in temperature and because it has a longer shelf-life! Alternatively, you can use 150 grams of solid mother yeast.
3. Water: always at room temperature
the natural one or from the tap (if it is drinkable) very well, it is important that it is at room temperature. Do not use lukewarm or worse hot water, hoping to encourage leavening. Know that if the yeast comes into contact with excessive heat that is already around 30 ° it no longer works! This is why doughs often don’t rise even if you follow a recipe to the letter!
How to make pizza dough
Ingredients
620 grams of (Manitoba) flour
400 gr of water
10 gr of fresh yeast (or 5 gr of dry yeast which behaves in the same way as fresh yeast in the process!)
15 gr of salt
5 gr honey
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Method
Making dough by hand
Activate the yeast in a little warm water for about 15 minutes.
Make a well with the flour, pour the yeast in the center, then start kneading with your hands.
Add the warm water a little at a time and knead until you get an elastic and non-sticky dough, adding more flour if necessary. Also, add salt.
Arrange the dough in a large bowl, cut it crosswise and brush it with a little oil.
Cover with a cloth and leave to rise for about 2 hours, until the dough volume is doubled.
Divide the dough into 4 parts and roll them out into a round shape to the desired thickness on a floured pastry board with your hands or with a rolling pin.
Arrange the pizzas in 4 pans 26/28 cm in diameter after having oiled them, and bake them at the maximum temperature allowed by your oven (450-480 F)
Cooking times vary significantly from oven to oven, check cooking frequently, making sure it doesn’t burn underneath.
Making dough by mixer or planetary
