Homemade Pizza & Pizza Dough

This pizza recipe includes an easy recipe for pizza dough.

Family Pizza Time

I told him that if he could help me, I’d talk about him on my website and he’d be famous. This seemed to grab his attention. The dough was “slimy” and “gross”, but he liked picking out his toppings and thought the final product was “awesome”.

Pizza Dough Recipe – My Favourite

This method combines recipes from Cook’s Illustrated’s Best Recipe and Joy of Cooking. It yields enough pizza dough to make two 10-inch or 12-inch pizzas.

Next time, I will be more patient in stretching the dough out so that I can make it even thinner.

How to Measure flour for this pizza dough recipe

The cup measurements may vary depending on how you scoop the flour. (We fluff it, lightly scoop, and then level with a blade.) I recommend using a scale to measure flour by weight. You can only get an accurate measurement by using a kitchen scale.

Is it better to let the dough rise overnight?

If you let the dough rise in the fridge overnight or up to 48 hours, the flavour will be enhanced, and the air bubbles will expand when the pizza is baked. Some people will fight over the pizza slices that have air bubbles. Take the dough from the fridge an hour before you use it to bring it up to room temperature.

Homemade Pizza & Pizza Dough

Prep Time30 minutes

Cook Time30 minutes

Rise Time90 mins

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Servings: 4 to 6 servings

Yield 2 10-inch pizzas

How to make pizza and its toppings

Extra virgin olive oil

Cornmeal to help slide the pizza on the pizza stone

Tomato sauce (smooth or pureed)

Firm mozzarella cheese, grated

Fresh soft mozzarella cheese, separated into small clumps

Fontina Cheese, grated

Parmesan cheese, grated

Feta cheese, crumbled

Mushrooms are sliced very thinly, as if they are raw. If not, first sautéed

Bell Peppers, seeds and stems removed, thinly sliced

Italian Pepperoncini, thinly cut

Italian sausage cooked ahead, crumbled

Sliced black olives

Chopped fresh basil

Arugula baby, tossed in olive oil and added when the pizza is out of the oven.

Pesto

Pepperoni thinly sliced

Thinly sliced onions, raw or caramelised

Ham thinly sliced

How to Make Pizza Dough

Pour the warm water into the large bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and allow it to sit for five minutes.

If the yeast hasn’t completely dissolved after 5 minutes, stir it. The yeast will begin to foam or bloom, which indicates that it is still alive and active.

Knead and make the pizza dough.

Mix the flour, olive oil, salt, and sugar using the mixer paddle attachment on low speed for one minute. Then, replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook.

Use the dough hook to knead the dough at low to medium speed for 7 to 10 minutes.

You can mix all the ingredients by hand if you don’t own a mixer.

It should feel tacky or sticky to the touch. If it is too wet, add a little flour.

Prepare the pizzas

Preheat the pizza pan (or stone) or baking sheet:

Place a pizza stone on a rack in the bottom third of your oven. Preheat the oven for 30 minutes or more, but ideally for an hour. If you do not have a stone, you can use a baking sheet or a pan. The item you choose mustn’t warp when heated to high temperatures.

Divide the dough into two balls:

Remove the plastic wrap from the dough. Dust your hands with flour and press the dough downwards so that it deflates. Divide the dough into two halves.

Form two round dough balls. Place each ball in a separate bowl, cover it with plastic and let it sit for at least 15 minutes.

Prepare the toppings

Prepare the desired toppings. Don’t overload each pizza, as this will cause the crust to be uncracked.

One pizza can be made with a quarter cup of each tomato sauce and the cheese. Two to four thinly sliced mushrooms will cover one pizza.

Spread the dough out and make a circle:

Take one ball at a time and flatten with your fingers on a lightly floured work surface.

Start at the middle and work outwards to get the dough as thick as 1/2 inch. Stretch the dough and turn it until you can’t stretch any further.

Stretch the dough until you reach the desired diameter.

Do not treat the dough harshly!

You can also stretch the dough by holding the edges up with your fingers.

If your dough has a hole, put it on a floured work surface and press the dough together to close the hole.

Use your hand to flatten the dough’s edge where it is thicker. Pinch the edges to create a lip.

Brush the top of the dough with olive oil.

To prevent the dough from bubbling, use your fingers to make small dents on the surface. Brush the top with olive oil to prevent the dough from becoming soggy due to the toppings. Rest the dough for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Repeat the process with the second dough ball.

Spread cornmeal on the pizza peel and place flattened dough over it:

Sprinkle cornmeal lightly on your flat baking sheet or pizza peel. The cornmeal acts as little balls to help move the pie from the peel into the oven.

Transfer one flattened dough prepared to the pizza peel.

If the dough loses its shape during the transfer, gently shape it into the desired dimension.

Spread tomato sauce on top and sprinkle toppings.

Place your toppings, tomato sauce, and cheese on top of the pizza. Don’t overload your pizza with toppings, or it will become soggy.

Slide the pizza into the oven.

Sprinkle some cornmeal onto the baking stone (be careful, the oven will be hot). If the dough does not slide easily, shake the peel gently to check if it doesn’t, lift the edges and sprinkle some more cornmeal.

Slide the pizza from the peel onto the baking stone.

Bake:

The pizza should be baked in the oven at 475°F, one by one, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese has browned. If you wish, you can add a little extra cheese at the end of the cooking time.