All Purpose Pizza Dough
Since I was a small child either Friday or Saturday was deemed pizza night. This tradition has stuck with me and to this day I make a point of maintaining this ritual.
As my skills in the kitchen have greatly improved over the last 15 years that I have been cooking, pizza dough was always a challenge. Until more recently I still relied on purchasing fresh pizza dough from Italian bakeries. While in any case this is always an option if you’re in a pinch I highly recommend trying to make this recipe. I have found that the first few recipes I experimented with added far too much yeast to the recipe and they didn’t necessarily specify to use bread flour. Both these ingredients are crucial to creating dough that is light and airy yet crispy on the bottom.
3 1/3 Cups of Bread Flour
1 ¼ Cup of Warm Water
3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp. Grey Salt
1 tsp. Yeast
1 tsp. Granulated Sugar
My food processor truly has been a blessing for this recipe. If you don’t have one the recipe can still be made by hand it will just require a little extra man power on your part.
To start, measure your water and place the yeast and sugar in the cup to proof for 5 – 10 minutes.
Food Processor Version:
Measure the flour and salt into a 11-cup food processor. When the yeast has proofed add the olive oil to this cup and with the food processor turned on add this mixture through the funnel. The mixture should come together quite quickly and once it has, let the machine do its thing for 30 seconds. Turn the food processor off and lightly dust a work surface and your hands with some flour. Use the flour on your hands to pry the dough free and turn it out onto the floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times to form a smooth ball.
By Hand:
Measure the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. When the yeast has proofed add the olive oil to this cup and pour this mixture into the flour. Mix the flour and yeast mixture together with a wooden spoon and when it starts to come away from the sides of the bowl turn out onto a floured surface and knead by hand for 7 to 10 minutes until you form a smooth ball.
Oil a medium sized bowl and let proof in a draught free area for 1 to 1 ½ hours – until the dough has doubled in volume. When the dough has finished rising you get to enjoy my favourite part of the process; punching down the dough. If you have any pant-up anger this is your chance to take it out, on the dough that is. Literally punch down the dough and place it on a floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times. Place into a plastic bag and put in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight for best results. I’m not to sure why but it seems allowing the dough to rest in the refrigerator creates a more fluffy dough.
As my skills in the kitchen have greatly improved over the last 15 years that I have been cooking, pizza dough was always a challenge. Until more recently I still relied on purchasing fresh pizza dough from Italian bakeries. While in any case this is always an option if you’re in a pinch I highly recommend trying to make this recipe. I have found that the first few recipes I experimented with added far too much yeast to the recipe and they didn’t necessarily specify to use bread flour. Both these ingredients are crucial to creating dough that is light and airy yet crispy on the bottom.
3 1/3 Cups of Bread Flour
1 ¼ Cup of Warm Water
3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp. Grey Salt
1 tsp. Yeast
1 tsp. Granulated Sugar
My food processor truly has been a blessing for this recipe. If you don’t have one the recipe can still be made by hand it will just require a little extra man power on your part.
To start, measure your water and place the yeast and sugar in the cup to proof for 5 – 10 minutes.
Food Processor Version:
Measure the flour and salt into a 11-cup food processor. When the yeast has proofed add the olive oil to this cup and with the food processor turned on add this mixture through the funnel. The mixture should come together quite quickly and once it has, let the machine do its thing for 30 seconds. Turn the food processor off and lightly dust a work surface and your hands with some flour. Use the flour on your hands to pry the dough free and turn it out onto the floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times to form a smooth ball.
By Hand:
Measure the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. When the yeast has proofed add the olive oil to this cup and pour this mixture into the flour. Mix the flour and yeast mixture together with a wooden spoon and when it starts to come away from the sides of the bowl turn out onto a floured surface and knead by hand for 7 to 10 minutes until you form a smooth ball.
Oil a medium sized bowl and let proof in a draught free area for 1 to 1 ½ hours – until the dough has doubled in volume. When the dough has finished rising you get to enjoy my favourite part of the process; punching down the dough. If you have any pant-up anger this is your chance to take it out, on the dough that is. Literally punch down the dough and place it on a floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times. Place into a plastic bag and put in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight for best results. I’m not to sure why but it seems allowing the dough to rest in the refrigerator creates a more fluffy dough.
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