Homemade Pizza Dough for Beginners

Name: Homemade Pizza Dough for Beginners
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 4 cups bread flour; 1.33 cups Warm Water; 2 tsp salt; 1 tsp instant yeast; 2 tsp olive oil

Serves 2

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Homemade Pizza Dough for Beginners

youtube.com

Serves 2

Directions

1Add warm water to a large mixing bowl.
2Sprinkle in the instant yeast and give it a quick stir.
3Add the flour, followed by the salt on top of the flour.
4Add the olive oil and start mixing everything together with a spoon, fork, or your hands until the flour is fully incorporated and you get a shaggy, sticky dough.
5Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
6Pull the dough out onto the countertop.
7Knead the dough for about 5 to 7 minutes by pressing down with the heel of your hand, folding the dough over, and giving it a quarter turn, until it becomes smooth and elastic.
8Place the smooth dough into a lightly oiled bowl.
9Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, a lid, or a damp towel and let it rise at room temperature for about 90 minutes to 2 hours until it doubles in size.
10After the rise, gently punch down the dough to release some gas.
11Divide the dough into two equal portions.
12Shape each dough ball by tucking the edges underneath to create tension on top.
13Let the dough balls rest for 1 hour, or in the fridge if making pizza later (take out 30 minutes beforehand).
14Lightly flour your surface and use your fingers to press the dough outward from the center.
15Gently stretch the dough to about 14 inches wide.
16Top the pizza however you like.
17Bake in a 500-degree Fahrenheit oven that has been preheated with a baking stone or steel for about 7 to 10 minutes.

Ingredients

4 cups bread flour
1.33 cups Warm Water
2 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp olive oil

Equipment

large mixing bowlspoonforkplastic wrapliddamp towelpizza stonepizza steelbaking sheet

Tips

If you don't have bread flour, all-purpose flour is fine.
Use instant yeast, not active yeast.
Add salt on top of the flour, not directly into the yeast, to prevent slowing down fermentation.
Don't worry about kneading initially; the dough is supposed to be shaggy and sticky.
The 10-minute rest after initial mixing allows flour to absorb water, making kneading easier.
The goal of kneading is to bring the dough into a smooth ball, not to overwork it.
If storing dough for more than an hour before making pizza, rest it in the fridge and take it out 30 minutes before to warm up.
When stretching dough, use fingers to press outward from the center, then let gravity do the work.

Homemade Pizza Dough for Beginners

Serves 2

youtube.com

Homemade Pizza Dough for Beginners

youtube.com

Serves 2

Directions

1Add warm water to a large mixing bowl.
2Sprinkle in the instant yeast and give it a quick stir.
3Add the flour, followed by the salt on top of the flour.
4Add the olive oil and start mixing everything together with a spoon, fork, or your hands until the flour is fully incorporated and you get a shaggy, sticky dough.
5Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
6Pull the dough out onto the countertop.
7Knead the dough for about 5 to 7 minutes by pressing down with the heel of your hand, folding the dough over, and giving it a quarter turn, until it becomes smooth and elastic.
8Place the smooth dough into a lightly oiled bowl.
9Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, a lid, or a damp towel and let it rise at room temperature for about 90 minutes to 2 hours until it doubles in size.
10After the rise, gently punch down the dough to release some gas.
11Divide the dough into two equal portions.
12Shape each dough ball by tucking the edges underneath to create tension on top.
13Let the dough balls rest for 1 hour, or in the fridge if making pizza later (take out 30 minutes beforehand).
14Lightly flour your surface and use your fingers to press the dough outward from the center.
15Gently stretch the dough to about 14 inches wide.
16Top the pizza however you like.
17Bake in a 500-degree Fahrenheit oven that has been preheated with a baking stone or steel for about 7 to 10 minutes.

Ingredients

4 cups bread flour
1.33 cups Warm Water
2 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp olive oil

Equipment

large mixing bowlspoonforkplastic wrapliddamp towelpizza stonepizza steelbaking sheet

Tips

If you don't have bread flour, all-purpose flour is fine.
Use instant yeast, not active yeast.
Add salt on top of the flour, not directly into the yeast, to prevent slowing down fermentation.
Don't worry about kneading initially; the dough is supposed to be shaggy and sticky.
The 10-minute rest after initial mixing allows flour to absorb water, making kneading easier.
The goal of kneading is to bring the dough into a smooth ball, not to overwork it.
If storing dough for more than an hour before making pizza, rest it in the fridge and take it out 30 minutes before to warm up.
When stretching dough, use fingers to press outward from the center, then let gravity do the work.