Basic Pizza Dough (Yeast)

Pizza evokes memories of good times spent with friends, movie nights with the family or can just be a very convenient fast food. A good pizza often oozes with melted cheese while the choice of toppings is truly endless.

This recipe is a very basic yeast-based dough, which can be made in 1 hour or less. Blind baking the dough will yield better results and a base that holds up to the sauce better. However, for the ultimate dough, which remains crispy, check out the sourdough recipe here….

Basic Pizza Dough

Recipe by Alexander WhaleyCourse: Pizza, lunch, dinner, snackCuisine: American, ItalianDifficulty: Medium
Servings

8

bases
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 
Calories

210

kcal
Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

A pizza is a savoury Italian dish made with a flat, thin round leavened dough base baked in a hot oven and topped with tomato sauce, cheese, and meats or vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 10g instant yeast

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 20 ml tepid water

  • 250g bread flour

  • 250g normal flour (cake flour), plus a bit extra for dusting

  • 10g salt

  • 350 ml water

  • oil for coating a bowl

Directions

  • Place the yeast, sugar and tepid water in a bowl and leave for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to activate
  • Weigh out the flour and the salt and place in a large mixing bowl, making sure that the salt is well mixed in with the flour as it can kill the yeast
  • Add in most of the 350ml of water, reserving a bit and start to mix with a knife to ensure that the flour is wet. Add a bit more water if necessary. The dough should feel quite wet at this stage
  • Add in the yeast mix and stir with the knife for another minute
  • Dust a work surface with some flour and lightly oil a proofing bowl
  • Tip the dough onto the work surface and knead for 10-20 minutes. The dough will be very wet at first but will start to develop a smooth skin and will start to hold together. Once it has a smooth skin, place it in the oiled bowl, cover it with a tea towel, and allow it to rise for about 1 hour. It should double in size
  • Tip back onto the work surface, roll lightly into a sausage, and split off into about 8 portions
  • Roll out each portion as needed. I like to make the center quite thin and leave the edges thicker. Prick the center of the pizza all over with a fork to stop it bubbling all over. If you want, you can let the dough rise for another 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 230 C
  • Bake each base for about 7-10 minutes depending on the crispiness required.
  • Take out of the oven, spread your sauce and toppings, and bake for a further 5 minutes or more until the cheese is melted

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