Homemade Pizza Dough
I love pizza. I mean...duh. Love eating it and love making it. It's actually therapeutic in a sense. I've been making pizza at home for many years. I thought the dough I was using before was great. That is...until I came across this recipe and method. Since then, my standards have remained high and they will not come down for any other recipe. When I make my pizza at home, everything has to be legit. I'm talking basil from my garden, San Marzano tomatoes, butter and oil mixture for the crust. I take it quite seriously. You will too once you try this for yourself. Trust me, you'll get addicted. If you've never made pizza dough at home, 1st, what's wrong with you? and 2nd, this is hands down the only one you have to try. It produces the perfect dough.
This recipe actually comes from pizza master, Tony Gemignani, who authored the book, "The Pizza Bible." It has not failed me yet. It produces a nice crispy, foldable slice of pizza with intense flavor. It's a lot of waiting and a lot of work, but trust me....it's VERY worth it!
Day 1:
It's poolish day! What the heck is poolish? It's just some flour, water and yeast mixed together. This is what's called a starter. It puts a little oomph in your dough and really intensifies the flavor. Once mixed, let the poolish sit out at room temperature overnight, covered with plastic wrap.
Day 2:
Put your poolish in the fridge for about 30 minutes before starting your dough. Combine your warm water and yeast and stir vigorously. Let it sit while you work on everything else. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour and malt powder. Mix for about ten seconds. Add the ice water and mix for about 15 seconds.
Now, add the yeast-water mixture and mix for ten seconds. Add in the poolish and mix for about 30 seconds.
Add the salt and mix and the oil and mix. Mix on medium speed for about a minute or two or until the dough wraps around the hook.
Move the dough from the bowl onto an unfloured clean surface.
Begin kneading the dough until a smooth ball is formed. Move the ball to a lightly oiled bowl.
Cover the bowl with a damp towel and leave it at room temperature for about an hour.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Day 3:
Remove the bowl from the fridge. Degass the dough by punching it down. Pour out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough with a dough cutter in half or quarters. Fold the dough onto itself into a ball. Move the ball onto an oiled baking sheet. Keep about 2-3" between the dough balls. Cover with plastic wrap that is also oiled. Place in the fridge overnight.
Let the dough come up to room temperature before working with it. Use a pizza stone and a very hot oven to bake off your pizza.
See how I do it:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnlE2c-MF0o[/embedyt]
Ingredients
- Poolish:
- 0.12 gram (⅓ of ⅛ a teaspoon) active dry yeast
- 47 grams (3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon) cold tap water
- 47 grams (3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon) high gluten flour
- Dough:
- 4.5 grams (1 ½ teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 70 grams (¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon) warm water (80°F-85°F)
- 453 grams (3 ½ cups) high gluten flour
- 9 grams (1 tablespoon) diastatic malt
- 225 grams (4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) ice water
- 9 grams (1 tablespoon) sea salt
- 5 grams (1 teaspoon) extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Poolish:
Put the yeast in with the water an whisk vigorously for 30 seconds. If it's alive move on, if not, dump it out.
Add the flour in and stir well with a rubber spatula until combined. It will look like pancake batter.
Scrape down the sides and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit out at room temperature overnight.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes before using. If not using right away, you can store it in the fridge for up to eight hours.
Bring to cool room temperature before using.
Dough:
In a small bowl, combine the warm water and yeast and stir vigorously for about 30 seconds. Let it sit to the side.
Combine the flour and malt in the bowl of the stand mixer with a dough hook.
Mix for ten seconds on low speed.
On low speed, pour in the ice water and then the yeast/water mixture. Mix for about 15 seconds.
Add the pool and continue to mix on low for one minute. The dough should come around the hook. Flip the dough over and add the salt.
Continue to mix for another minute on the lowest setting.
Pull the dough off the hook and add in the oil.
Mix for one to two minutes until the dough wraps around the hook.
Transfer the dough to an unfloured work surface and knead for two to three minutes until smooth.
Move the dough to a bowl and cover with a damp towel at room temperature for one hour.
Put a few drops of water or oil over the top of the dough and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
The next day, degas the dough by punching it down or transferring to your stand mixer and turning your mixer to low for about 30 seconds.
Use the dough cutter to cut the dough into two pieces. Weigh it if necessary.
Hold the dough edges between your hands with your fingers curled inward on top of the dough. Begin to fold the left and right sides up to meet in the center. Repeat.
Continue this until a smooth ball is formed and then pinch a seam together firmly to make the tight ball. Pinch hard enough to form a really tight seal.
Place the dough ball on an oiled baking sheet and cover with an oiled plastic wrap. Place the balls about 3" apart.
Refrigerate for 24 hours.
The next day, it's ready for use! Make sure you bring the dough to room temperature before using it.
Notes
Highly suggest using a pizza stone. Use a very hot oven, like 500°F for cooking your pizza. Use a high gluten flour. You're looking for 13-14% protein. Knead by bringing some dough out and pulling it back in. Be gentle on the dough. Bring to room temperature before starting to make your pizza.