Today I bring you an excellent recipe, especially for those who like to avoid delivery and prepare pizza at home, but don’t know how to make pizza dough.
There are as many pizza recipes as there are people in the world, and that can be a little overwhelming. Everyone has their own trick and way of making it, and they all think they’re the best, but that’s not the case.
In this post, I’m bringing you 5 tips for making the most delicious pizza dough in the county. This is MIT‑approved, by the way! You can check it out on Google if you want. If you want to see more recipes, you can bookmark my website.
5 tips for making perfect pizza dough
Take note, my dear ones
Is it easy to make pizza dough, Fatima? People ask me. Yes! It’s super easy, but there are a few tips and tricks to make the best in the universe. They’re very simple, but they really make a huge difference to the final result.
- When kneading, you need to combine the flour and salt with the water containing the dissolved yeast. Knead gently, okay? And you’ll add the water little by little. This way you’ll achieve a smooth, even, beautiful dough. The key is not to rush this step. If you feel the dough sticking to your fingers or the counter, add a little more flour. But do it gradually!
- Add the oil gradually, just like you did with the water, once you’ve obtained a smooth, elastic dough without any lumps. Once the oil is added, knead the dough again to ensure all the ingredients are well combined.
- Pre‑bake your pizza dough! The trick is to put the rolled‑out dough, without any toppings, in the oven for 5 to 6 minutes, just enough for it to lose a little elasticity. This will remove moisture from the dough, making it much crisper.
- It’s best to use fresh tomatoes. We want the tomato sauce to be as thick as possible and, therefore, have a lower water content. This way, we avoid making the dough too wet and achieve that crispy texture we love.
- Regarding the ingredients: everyone has their favorites, according to their tastes, but there’s a key point: less is more! In other words, it’s better to use fewer ingredients. A common mistake is adding too many ingredients, which means they don’t all cook evenly and the flavors end up mixing together.
Why make homemade pizza dough?
You can find many kinds of pre‑made pizza dough in supermarkets, but I’ve never found one as good as homemade. Most turn out dry or bland, and some have ingredients I prefer to avoid.
Making your own homemade pizza dough sounds intimidating, especially if you don’t usually bake bread, but I assure you it’s not only easy, it’s also quick. You don’t have to wait for the dough to rise multiple times, so you can make the dough almost faster than it would take to buy pre‑made pizza dough.
My son loves helping me make pizza, and we like to make individual mini pizzas. This also allows each person to choose their toppings and the type of crust (thinner or thicker).
Of course, as always, I love making things at home because that way I can control the ingredients.
How to make a pizza thinner or thicker?
Another benefit of making homemade dough is that you can choose exactly how you want each pizza. Maybe you like pizza with a thick, fluffy crust, but your partner prefers thin‑crust pizzas. There’s no need to argue when you make homemade dough.
Although this recipe is perfect for making a large 40cm pizza with a medium‑thick crust, we prefer to make individual pizzas. We usually get about five 15cm individual pizzas. If you make thinner pizzas, you’ll likely get more. Simply stretch the dough, either by hand or with a rolling pin, to your desired thickness.
How to make a crispy pizza dough?
Perhaps it’s because I don’t like having to help my son eat pizza that I like to make pizzas that are somewhat crispy and hold their shape. I don’t like soggy pizzas that bend and break and have to be eaten with a fork.
To ensure a crispy pizza crust, this recipe uses a process where the dough is pre‑baked for a few minutes before adding the toppings. If you make the crust very thin, you should adjust the pre‑baking time (decrease it) to prevent it from overcooking.
You can also reduce the initial pre‑baking time (or eliminate it altogether) if you prefer a softer pizza crust. (You would likely need to slightly increase the baking time with the toppings to compensate.)
Another thing that helps you get a crispy crust is using a pizza stone. Pizza stones should be preheated at the same time as your oven. Putting a cold pizza stone in a hot oven could cause it to crack. I like to use a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and use the bottom heat setting. Heating from below is another way to ensure you don’t end up with a soggy crust.
How to make quick homemade pizza with no‑rest dough?
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes
Total time: 28 minutes
Dish: Bread, Main Dish
Portions: 4‑6
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| All‑purpose wheat flour | 390 g or 3 cups |
| Water | 240 ml or 1 cup |
| Dried yeast (7g sachet) | 1 |
| Salt | ½ tsp |
| Oil | 1 tbsp |
Step‑by‑step preparation
- Turn the oven on to 250°C with top and bottom heat and let it heat up for 20 minutes.
- Place a tray at the bottom of the oven.
- Take the ingredients you’re going to put on the pizza out of the refrigerator so they can come to room temperature.
- In a bowl, sift 130g or 1 cup of all‑purpose flour. If you don’t have a sieve, pass it through a strainer. This will make the pizza fluffier.
- Add a packet of dried yeast.
- Mix the flour and baking powder very well.
- Take 240 ml or 1 cup of hot water, 50‑55°C. It should be hot enough to put your finger in, but you can’t hold it for more than 2 seconds because it will burn.
- Pour the water over the flour and baking powder and stir very well. Make sure there are no lumps.
- Sift 260g or 2 cups more flour.
- Add the salt.
- Stir it a little.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil, preferably olive oil.
- Stir very well.
- Finish making the ball with your hand.
- Turn the dough out onto the table and knead it for 5 minutes.
- At first the dough is sticky but you’ll see how it will quickly come together.
- There’s no need to knead it in any particular way, just knead it however it comes out.
- Give it a good shake, don’t be afraid! The dough is very soft and pleasant to the touch.
- Set aside the dough and cut, chop or grate the ingredients you are going to put on the pizza.
- This dough makes either 1 thick pizza or 2 thin pizzas. I’m going to make 2 thin pizzas.
- Roll out the dough into a circle about 35 cm in diameter. I like to stretch the dough by hand, but you can do it your way. You can use a rolling pin without any problem.
- Place the dough on the baking paper and fill it to your liking.
- My tomato sauce is the one I already showed you how to make in the Italian pizza video.
- I add grated mozzarella.
- Cooked ham.
- Black olives.
- A little more mozzarella on top.
- And a pinch of dried oregano crumbled between your fingers.
- To transport the pizza to the oven you can use either a peel or a piece of cardboard.
- Put the pizza in the oven.
- Bake it for 5 minutes or until it’s golden brown on the bottom.
- Move it to the top shelf so it browns on top. Mine took 3 minutes to brown on top.
- Take the pizza out of the oven.
- Serve it right away.