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
Thats right just 4 simple ingredients and your on your way to making delicious traditional pizza dough just like the Italians! Here's what you need! It's the same as the most basic bread dough. Water, flour, yeast, salt, maybe a tablespoon of oil.
What type of flour do most pizza chef's use in their pizza dough and why? ›
Caputo "00" Bread Flour
This is the gold standard of pizza flours by which most others are judged, but there's quite a bit of confusion as to exactly what it is. You'll read in countless sources that Italian Tipo "00" flour, like the Caputo, is a "soft wheat flour," with a low protein content.
What is the name given to the traditional Italian pizza and what ingredients does it include? ›
Originating from Naples, Neapolitan pizza is perhaps the most iconic style of Italian pizza. It has a thin, soft crust that's slightly charred on the edges and a simple topping of San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella cheese (often buffalo mozzarella), fresh basil, salt, and olive oil.
What is an Italian baked by consisting of a thin bread like crust and covered with topping such as cheese tomato sauce vegetables and meat called? ›
pizza, dish of Italian origin consisting of a flattened disk of bread dough topped with some combination of olive oil, oregano, tomato, olives, mozzarella or other cheese, and many other ingredients, baked quickly—usually, in a commercial setting, using a wood-fired oven heated to a very high temperature—and served hot ...
What kind of flour do Italians use for pizza? ›
Caputo 00 flour is renowned across Italy— and now, the world—for its purity, superior texture and quality wheat blends. Other exceptional brands of pizza flour come from Molino Grassi, Cinque Stagioni, and Molino Spadoni.
What is the 55 rule for pizza? ›
Vincenzo: “An important detail when making the preferment is the temperature of the water you add. For this, I use the rule of 55. You take the number 55 as a starting point and subtract the temperature of the flour and the room temperature. The number that remains is the desired water temperature.
Is 00 flour really better for pizza? ›
00 flour is the gold standard for Neapolitan pizzas, which are, in many opinions, the epitome of pizza perfection.
Which 2 types of flour make the best pizza dough? ›
The best flour for making chewy pizza dough is high-gluten flour. This pizza dough is made with high gluten, a protein-rich flour often milled from hard wheat varieties like red winter and red spring. You may also prepare it by adding essential gluten wheat to all-purpose flour.
What is the worlds best flour for pizza? ›
Double zero flour/Tipo 00 flour
And these flours have just the right amount of protein content - around 12.5% for pizza baking. Both Tipo 0 and Tipo 00 are also approved by the AVPN (The True Neapolitan Pizza Association), which manages the international regulations for Neapolitan pizza.
What do real Italians put on pizza? ›
Instead, a generous portion of prosciutto, large chunks of mozzarella, a variety of hand-picked herbs and greens such as rosemary, basil, arugula, and capers. Eggplant, garlic, and green peppers are also popular Italian choices for pizza toppings. Traditionally, Italian pizzas are hearty, flavorful, and savory.
Its mission is to promote and protect in Italy and worldwide the true Neapolitan pizza (verace pizza napoletana), i.e. the typical product made in accordance with the characteristics described in the AVPN International Regulations for obtaining a collective brand mark True Neapolitan Pizza (Vera Pizza Napoletana), in ...
What is the favorite pizza in Italy? ›
Pizza: what's the favorite for the Italians?
- margherita, simple with fiordilatte or buffalo mozzarella;
- margherita with ham and mushrooms;
- the capricciosa, for those who love complex tastes;
- pizza with artichokes: vegetable more than loved in Italy, chosen in all its versions;
Food historians trace pizza's origins to Naples, Italy, in the 1800s, and note that it wasn't until 1889 that cheese was added as a topping. A pizza without cheese is today recognized as one of the three official authentic Neapolitan pizzas and is called pizza marinara.”
Which country invented pizza? ›
But modern pizza, the flatbreads with tomato sauce, cheese, and toppings, was born along the western coast of Italy, in the city of Naples. Naples too has a long history, dating back to 600 B.C. when the Greeks first settled it. Over time, Naples became a thriving city on the water.
What is the Italian dish similar to pizza? ›
Stromboli is like the rolled-up cousin of pizza – its easy to eat with your hands and makes for a great shared appetizer. Plus, one recipe can feed a crowd!
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.
What kind of yeast do Italians use for pizza? ›
Most dough recipes call for instant or dry yeast, but the best kind for Naples pizza is the Italian -00- flour. This flour is highly elastic and should be used with suitable flour, like whole wheat. The right flour is crucial to the success of the pizza. A blend of fresh and dry yeast will produce the perfect result.
What's the difference between pizza dough and Italian bread dough? ›
The water percentage in pizza is 60% in hydration, while some bread dough can be 80-90%. While higher hydration levels in pizza dough can make it fluffy and crispier, it'll be impossible to shape. It will burn faster as well. The hydration levels will also affect the baking time drastically.
Do Italians put 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.
