One of my New Years Resolutions was to bake bread more house. After mastering pita, I felt like the natural next step is really delicious, traditional pizza crust. Middle of the Road- not too thick or too thin, crispy but soft ... you know that pizza crust that will house many years of pizza for my family. Is it weird I have this vision of Friday evening pizza become a household tradition?
In our current home, however, the pizza has become a tradition on Sunday Football Sunday to be exact. Since my beloved PACKERS are still in the race, we had a lot of fun with friends and family on and beat some pizzas throughout the game. You can make the dough in advance and spread the dough when you are ready to cook them. And I do not think I have to tell you about all the trim options! They are of course endless.
I hope to please pizzas regular thing around these parts, I hope you're on board with. Buffalo Chicken Pizza person !?
I made homemade pizza dough several times before but this is definitely the best. Super easy, relatively little time proof, and really the perfect consistency. I'm Annie's recipe that has a great post with FAQ and additional information about the development of this wonderful recipe so be sure to check that out too!
- 2¼ c. instant yeast
- 4 cups (22 oz *) bread flour, and more for dusting
- 1½ c. salt
- 1¾ cup of warm water, at room temperature
- 2 c. extra-virgin olive oil and a bit more for handling the dough
- In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the bread flour, salt and yeast, stir briefly to blend.
- with the mixer on low speed, pour in the water and olive oil. Mix until the dough comes mostly together and then move to dough hook.
- Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5-7 minutes. Oil the bowl and turn the dough once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.
- Punch dough to deflate and transfer to a lightly floured work space.
- Divide the dough into two pieces and form each into a smooth round ball. (If you are going to freeze the dough, wrap in plastic wrap, then a ziploc bag and pop it in the freezer.)
- If you use the dough immediately, cover with a damp cloth . Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.
- To bake, preheat oven and pizza stone at 500? F for at least 30 minutes. Place a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface and place your dough ball in the middle.
- Using your olive oil coated hands, and roll out the dough until it is thin and fit. (Forming a thin crust ridge around the edge.) I found using a little extra oil is easier to spread and make really thin.
- When your dough into the parchment, add your sauce and toppings. Use a cutting board to help transfer the pizza to the hot stone.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
If you are going to freeze the dough, it is very important that you do this right after you form into balls. Yeast is super active and continue to demonstrate unless it's really cold. You can always stop the event in the freezer, then bring it to the refrigerator until you are ready to use.
Recipe adapted from Annie Eats