Today I am sharing my recipe for Italian Pizza Dough that I have been using for years. I started to make pizza and pizza dough many many moons ago. My earliest memories of making pizza go way back to my middle school days. I can still remember one of my first attempts being a disappointment because I put way too much cheese on the pizza. Seriously, the ratio was soooooo off and the cheese so thick. If it was cold and flipped upside down, the slice would not have flopped. Now that’s some serious cheesiness.
Since then my ratios and pizza making skills have improved tremendously. The Italian pizza dough recipe I am sharing today is one that I found all them years ago while in middle school. Since then I have made slight tweaks, here or there, based on years of experience. As well as trial and error. However, the recipe is virtually unchanged and been a staple in repertoire.
SCROLL DOWN FOR ADDITIONAL TIPS AND TRICKS
The Dough
The dough starts out pretty basic. Simply use water, yeast, sugar, salt, oil and flour. What makes this dough different from any other is not so much the ingredients. It’s the technique.
To start the dough you will need to bloom the yeast. To accomplish this, use warm water a packet of dry yeast and sugar. The yeast will bloom in about five minutes. You’ll see this happen when a layer of foam develops at the top of the water. No foam? Either your water was too cold and did not activate. Or the water was too hot and you killed the yeast, you monster!
Once the yeast has bloomed, move the liquid to a mixing bowl if by hand or your stand mixer bowl if by machine. Add one cup of the flour and begin to mix. Once the flour is incorporated, add your salt and oil here. You add the salt as this point and not before to protect the yeast. Salt kills yeast and adding it after some flour keeps them from fighting. Adding the oil now helps condition and soften the dough. The oil helps make an easy working dough that is terrific to handle.
The Feel
Now add the remaining flour until your create the proper feel. At this point it is not about the amount of flour listed in the recipe. It’s all about the dough telling you how much flour it needs today. The amount of flour needed is based off more than just the amount of water used. The type and brand of flour affects feel. Humidity, temp and time all play a part as well. To stay from getting too technical what you want to create is a dough that is nice and soft, slightly tacky, but not sticky. You should be able to press your fingers lightly into the dough and pull them back with the dough slightly sticking to your fingers, but releasing and not leaving tiny bits.
Once the right feel is achieved, knead the dough for roughly 5-8 minutes by machine and 10-12 minutes by hand. You should end up with a ball of dough that is nice and soft, but smooth like a baby’s bottom. At least that’s what my old professors used to say. Just knead the dough until it is nice and smooth.
Now, roll the dough into a nice ball and place in a covered bowl until the dough doubles in size. Approximately 45 minutes to an hour.
Professional Tips and Tricks For Italian Pizza Dough
- To develop flavor, start with cooler water. This will allow you to retard the dough in the fridge for a few days. Allowing the dough to rest and ferment (retard) in the fridge for an extended time develops a deeper flavor.
- The fermentation period will also allow the dough to develop added texture and chewiness when baked. Most popular pizzerias and bakeries allow their dough to ferment overnight, if not longer.
The Only Italian Pizza Dough Recipe You'll Need
Crispy, chewy and oh so tasty. This Italian Pizza Dough recipe is so good it's the only one I need. Once you try it, it will be the only one you need too.
Servings: 1 Recipe
Author: Nate
Ingredients
- 1 1/3cupfiltered water
- 1pktdry active yeast
- 1tbspsugar
- 2.5tbspoilive oil
- 1tbspkosher salt
- 3cupbread flour, high proteinapproximate amount
Instructions
Bloom yeast in warm water with dissolved sugar.
Allow yeast to bloom until a thick foam has developed on top of water.
Add liquid to mixing bowl and add 1 cup of flour and combine well.
Once the first cup of flour is incorporated, add the salt and oil. Combine.
Now add the remaining flour until that soft, slightly tacky dough is achieved. Focus on the feel.
Proof until dough has doubled in size. Approximately 45 minutes to an hour.
Related
FAQs
There are many tricks to achieving a tasty, homemade pizza dough that rises into a beautiful pizza crust, such as making sure your ingredients are at right temperature, using half bread flour for a stronger dough and half all-purpose flour for a nice rise, substituting honey for sugar to help caramelize the crust and ...
Why is Italian pizza dough so good? ›
The Italian pizza crust is thin but perfectly balanced. It's not too crunchy and made with wheat flour and olive oil. Sometimes they may add herbs to the dough as well as the sauce. Many people don't know this, but there's a chance they may have never tried Italian pizza, even if they've eaten pizza a hundred times.
What is the name given to the traditional Italian pizza and what ingredients does it include? ›
One of the simplest and most traditional pizzas is the Margherita, which is topped with tomatoes or tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil.
What kind of flour do Italians use for pizza dough? ›
The best flour for making Neapolitan Pizza Dough is 00 Pizza Flour. This type of pizza dough is thin and crispy with a slightly chewy texture. 00 Pizza Flour is an Italian-milled, finely ground wheat flour. It is perfect for Neapolitan Pizza Dough because it produces a light and airy crust with a slightly chewy centre.
Do Italians put olive oil in pizza dough? ›
All pizza styles are descended from the oil-free Italian Classical Neapolitan Pizza. Only flour, water, natural yeast, and salt are used in this recipe. Almost all other pizza styles established by Italian ancestors and others call for the use of oil or fat. Olive oil is used in all Italian dishes to add taste.
What is the secret to the best pizza? ›
Here are some secrets to making a mouthwatering pizza:
- Quality Ingredients:Start with high-quality ingredients. ...
- Homemade Dough:If possible, make your pizza dough from scratch. ...
- Proper Dough Resting:Allow the pizza dough to rest and rise properly. ...
- Quality Tomato Sauce:Use a good-quality tomato sauce.
Be careful not to handle your dough for too long- around 5 minutes of kneading should do it. Any longer and you will risk overworking your dough, leaving it crumbly and tough.
What does adding vinegar to pizza dough do? ›
The acidic properties of vinegar inhibit gluten, some will say. This theory proposes that once the water and flour are combined, gluten starts forming, causing the dough to grow tough. Adding an acid, the theory goes, stops the gluten in its tracks and rescues the crust from toughness.
Why does Sicilian pizza taste different? ›
What makes Sicilian-style pizza a standout is its dough. A Sicilian pizza dough has four simple ingredients: flour, water, salt, and yeast. The dough is cooked at high temperatures in the oven to create a memorable, thick, doughy texture.
Why does pizza taste different in Italy? ›
The Italian version has a more fresh and flavorful sauce than the American version. Italians have a distinctive mozzarella di Bufala cheese, a mozzarella cheese created from buffalo's milk. They use this cheese as scoops of fresh cheese instead of grating them, which provides a fresh taste to the entire pizza.
Authentic Italian pizzas are based with nonna's special fresh tomato sauce (which doesn't get cooked at all!). This rich sauce must be prepared with peeled Italian tomatoes, preferably with San Marzano peeled tomatoes, and then blanched with salt, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil to get an original taste.
What is the most authentic Italian pizza? ›
Born in Napoli, la pizza Napoletana is one of the most famous types of Italian pizza. Protected by a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG) certification, this style must be made in a very particular way. The dough is comprised of wheat flour, yeast, salt, and water and is left to rise for up to 24 hours.
What is Sicilian pizza made of? ›
The original, authentic version from Sicily comes from Palermo and is called sfincione, which loosely translates as "thick sponge." Sicilian pizza has a fluffy, spongy bread base topped with a meatless sauce made from tomatoes, onions, herbs, and anchovies, which is covered with breadcrumbs and an optional grating of ...
Do Italians drizzle olive oil on pizza? ›
Some varieties of original Italian pizza, known as Bianca, are served completely without sauce and are instead drizzled with olive oil. One of the most unexpected characteristics that distinguish original Italian pizza from imitations and recreations is its toppings.
What makes Italian pizza dough different? ›
Italians take extra care and time to create their pizza dough. They allow the dough to sit and rise for three days to make it light and fluffy. They're also very particular about using high-quality ingredients to create a mouthwatering dish.
What is the difference between American and Italian pizza dough? ›
Italian pizza dough is flattened out thinly to form a thin crust. American pizza dough is made with all-purpose flour or bread flour which are high in gluten. Resting time for the dough is typically a few hours. The dough is kneaded for a longer time than Italian pizza to give it a more bready texture.
Does pizza dough have eggs in Italy? ›
No. Firstly, pizza dough is made without eggs, with simply flour, water, yeast, olive oil and some salt.
What's the difference between pizza dough and Italian bread dough? ›
The main difference is that pizza dough is often made with a higher protein flour (bread flour is perfect). Bread dough can also be made with bread flour (of course) but some types of bread dough are better made with a lower protein flour like all purpose flour.
