Pizza Archive


How to Make a Pizza Dough

Everybody loves pizza! Somebody set even up entire websites for it, and after reading the article on How to Bake a Pizza I thought it’s time for the collection of Italian recipes to give people what they want: Pizza. So lets start with the dough and a short history of Pizza.

The history of pizza began with a flatbread seasoned with various Mediterranean flavors and seasonings which were earlier called as Plankuntos. These were traditionally cooked on a hot stone by the Greeks which highly resemble the focaccia bread that we enjoy today. Pizza is a Latin word that translates to “flat bread”. Later on, the Mediterranean ancestors brought this dish to Italy, where cheese, vegetables, and other toppings were used to enhance its flavor. Since then, many pizza flavors were created and discovered making Italy a haven for pizza lovers.

This might make you hungry for a slice of pizza. But nothing will come close to a homemade pizza meal that you can do on your own. Making your own pizza crust from scratch is just as easy as calling for delivery. With your personalized pizza creation, you can try out different flavors and combinations to come up with your new favorite dish. Searching online for a pizza crust recipe might be quite confusing but as a beginner, this easy recipe would be the perfect one for you.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Ingredients

  • 4 cups sifted flour
  • 1 ¼ cup of warm water
  • 2 packages of dry yeast
  • 2 teaspoons of olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of salt

Directions

Basically, it’s as easy as this. so let’s get started:

Stir in the yeast in warm water until it dissolves. Add the flour, one cup at a time, to the mixture until it becomes stiff. You will start to notice that it becomes difficult to stir with a spoon. This will tell you that you are now ready for kneading.

On a flat surface, sprinkle a small amount of flour and knead the dough mixture for at least 10 minutes or until the dough becomes elastic and free of lumps. Shape the dough into a ball and set aside.

Grease a bowl slightly with olive oil. Place the rounded dough into the bowl and lightly grease the top. Cover the bowl, preferably with a plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for an hour. After an hour, you will now observe how the dough was able to rise and double in size.

Preheat your over to 500 degrees F
Knead the dough on a floured surface once more. Make sure that you are able to get rid of bubbles by punching into the dough. You can divide this into two to make two batches of 10 inch thick crust or 12 inch thin crust pizza dough.

Transfer these into an oiled pizza pan and let it rest for ten minutes more.

Add the sauce, cheese, and toppings that you like. Brush the edges of the pizza crust with olive oil. Bake this on a preheated oven at 500 degrees F for 15 minutes or as soon as the cheese melts evenly.

Tips

You can make variations with the pizza dough, you may prefer to make it without yeast or add herbs such as basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and sage. Your pizza need not be round at all times. You may also want to try square pans which kids would surely enjoy. This dough recipe may also be used to make calzone or deep dish pizza. For those who prefer a healthier pizza crust, replace the flour with 2 cups of whole wheat flour for this recipe to add more texture and an earthy flavor to your dish. An inspiration is also pie crust. If you know the one, you know how to make the other.

Filed under Pizza · Tagged with