Italian🍞 Bread & bakery

Perfect Pizza Dough

Name: Perfect Pizza Dough
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: ~300 ml Warm water (around 40°C); ~1½ tsp Sugar; ~1½ tsp Instant or active dry yeast; ~3 tbsp Olive oil; ~460 g Flour; ~2 tsp Salt

⏱ 135 min🍽 Serves 3

A quick and reliable homemade pizza dough recipe that transforms raw flour into a finished pizza in approximately 2 hours 15 minutes. This recipe yields enough dough for three 12-inch pizzas, with two portions suitable for freezing for future use.

Adapted from a video by John Kirkwood

Pizza Dough: Perfect Every Time ;)

Watch on YouTube

Ingredients

Warm water (around 40°C)To activate the yeast~300 mlest.
SugarTo get the yeast started~1½ tspest.
Instant or active dry yeastIf using fresh yeast, use 20g instead~1½ tspest.
Olive oil~3 tbspest.
FlourUse fine double zero pizza or Italian pasta flour if available; ordinary white bread flour works as an alternative~460 gest.
Salt~2 tspest.

Steps

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1
Heat water to approximately 40°C (104°F), add sugar, then add the instant or active dry yeast. Stir well until everything has completely dissolved.
2
Set the yeast mixture aside for 10 minutes. If there is no visible activity after 10 minutes, the yeast is dead and must be replaced.
3
Pour the activated yeast mixture into a bowl, add olive oil, flour, and salt. Mix on speed one with a stand mixer's dough hook attachment, or knead by hand (the dough has 65% hydration and is suitable for hand-kneading). Scrape down the bowl sides as needed with a bowl scraper.
4
Knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth and well-developed. Meanwhile, lightly coat a proofing bowl with olive oil.
5
Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place on the work surface. Give it a quick knead and form into a ball. Drag the dough edges to tighten the outer skin. Place it in the oiled proofing bowl, ensuring the entire dough ball has a thin coat of oil.
6
Cover the bowl with a lid or shower cap and proof in a warm spot for 1 hour. The dough should at least double in size.
7
Turn the dough out onto an unfloured work surface. Knock it back by pressing out all the built-up CO2 gas.
8
Form the dough into a ball again. Divide it into three equal pieces using scales; each piece should weigh approximately 300g (11 oz).
9
Form two of the pieces into tight dough balls and wrap each individually in lightly oiled plastic wrap. These can be stored in the freezer for future use or kept in a container in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days.
10
Form the third piece into a smooth dough ball. Dust the work surface lightly with flour, place the dough on it, and dust the top lightly as well. Cover with a lightweight dry cloth and proof for 20 minutes.
11
Begin shaping the dough into a pizza using your fingers, starting from the middle and leaving a border around the edge. Stretch and rest the dough in stages rather than all at once. When the dough tightens, let it rest for a moment before continuing. This takes approximately 5 minutes to reach approximately 12 inches.

Perfect Pizza Dough

Ingredients

Steps

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