Breads · No. 11
The Best Pizza Dough
A quick homemade pizza dough with instant yeast that rises in 30 minutes and makes one 12 inch pizza.
Serves 12Total time 1 hrItalianDinner, Bread
Ingredients
- 2-2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour OR bread flour¹, divided (250-295 g)
- 1 packet instant yeast² (2 ¼ teaspoon)
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon garlic powder and/or dried basil leaves, optional
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional
- ¾ cup warm water³ (175 ml)
Equipment: pizza pan (the author likes a Lodge cast iron one), mixing bowls, pizza cutter.
Method
- Combine 1 cup (125 g) of flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. If desired, add garlic powder and dried basil at this point as well.
- Add olive oil and warm water and use a wooden spoon to stir very well.
- Gradually add another 1 cup (125 g) of flour. Add any additional flour as needed (I've found that sometimes I need as much as an additional ⅓ cup), stirring until the dough is forming into a cohesive, elastic ball and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the bowl (see video above recipe for visual cue). The dough will still be slightly sticky but still should be manageable with your hands.
- Drizzle a separate, large, clean bowl generously with olive oil and use a pastry brush to brush up the sides of the bowl.
- Lightly dust your hands with flour and form your pizza dough into a round ball and transfer to your olive oil-brushed bowl. Use your hands to roll the pizza dough along the inside of the bowl until it is coated in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place.
- Allow dough to rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. If you intend to bake this dough into a pizza, I also recommend preheating your oven to 425F (215C) at this point so that it will have reached temperature once your pizza is ready to bake.
- Once the dough has risen, use your hands to gently deflate it and transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth (about 3-5 times).
- Use either your hands or a rolling pin to work the dough into a 12" circle.
- Transfer dough to a parchment paper lined pizza pan and either pinch the edges or fold them over to form a crust.
- Drizzle additional olive oil (about a tablespoon) over the top of the pizza and use your pastry brush to brush the entire surface of the pizza (including the crust) with olive oil.
- Use a fork to poke holes all over the center of the pizza to keep the dough from bubbling up in the oven.
- Add desired toppings (see the notes for a link to my favorite, 5-minute pizza sauce recipe!) and bake in a 425F (215C) preheated oven for 13-15 minutes or until toppings are golden brown. Slice and serve.
Original cookbook photos
Notes
- Printed from Sugar Spun Run ("Find more great recipes at SugarSpunRun.com!"), author Sam Merritt. No full URL is printed, so Source is left empty.
- Prep 15 min, cook 15 min, rising 30 min, total 1 hour. 12 servings; makes one 10-12" pizza. Course: Main Course. The page lists the cuisine as American; it is saved here as Italian since it is pizza.
- ¹ All-purpose flour gives a softer crust; bread flour gives a slightly crispier outside.
- ² Many readers have used active dry yeast (same amount, 2 ¼ tsp) with success. Proofing it first in the ¾ cup warm water is recommended, but mixing it straight into the dough has also worked.
- ³ Water should ideally be 105-115F (40-46C). Warm tap water is fine, but too hot will kill the yeast.
- Making in advance: let the dough rise covered at room temperature as written, deflate it, wrap it tightly, and refrigerate up to several days or freeze up to a month.
- The 5-minute pizza sauce recipe mentioned in step 12 is a link on the website and is not included in the printout.
- Nutrition as printed (per serving): 113 kcal, 19 g carbs, 3 g protein, 3 g fat, 146 mg sodium, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugar.