Photo Courtesy Of Sonia the Healthy Foodie
There are only three main ingredients in pizza: dough, flour, water and yeast. Your use of these ingredients will effect the type of pizza you make though and ensure you have the perfect pizza dough every time.
Types of Flour
The first thing you need when making pizza dough is a good, strong, white bread flour. Bread flour is different to plain or all purpose flour as it has a high gluten content. This makes it suited to dense mixes and doughs. All purpose flour is more suited to make airy cake mixes. Bread flour also has a stronger taste which gives it a distinctive flavour.
Alternatively you can use Tipo ’00’ flour that can be purchased in many specialist grocery stores. Tipo ’00’ flour is much finer and is suited well to dough for thin Italian style bases. The grading of ’00’ relates to how finely the flour has been milled. It has a slightly lower gluten content than ordinary bread flour which results in the dough being less chewy.
Types of Yeast
Yeast comes in a few different forms. The easiest type to use when you are making pizza dough is quick yeast. This type of yeast has already been activated, meaning that it has been treated to already begin the fermentation process. As soon as you add this yeast to the dough it will begin to react with the carbon dioxide in the flour creating air bubbles. This is what causes the dough to rise. Quick yeast can be bought from most grocery stores and is often found in convenient 7g packets. You should use 7g yeast to approximately 500g flour and 300ml of water. It will help the yeast to starting the rising process quicker if you use warm water and mix the yeast into the water before you start.
If you are not using quick yeast, you will have to activate it first according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The usual process is to mix the yeast in with some warm water and leave it in a warm dark place for a couple of hours. In this time, the yeast and water mixture will become frothy, starting the fermenting process.
Making the Pizza Dough
You can make your pizza dough on a flat surface, however it is less messy to use a large bowl. Prepare your bowl by coating it with a very thin layer of olive oil. This olive oil will also add to the flavour of the dough giving it a more authentic taste. Put all of the flour into the bowl and form a well in it. Add a little table salt or crushed sea salt into the flour. Then gradually pour the water and yeast mixture into the well, stirring it into the flour gradually. It will quickly become sticky to form a dough. If the dough is too sticky to take out of the bowl in one lump then add a little more flour until it becomes pliable.
Working your Pizza Dough
You can begin to knead your dough in the bowl until it is of the consistency that you can easily take it out of the bowl. Once the dough is pulled together will, tip your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface and begin to knead it. You want the end dough result to be pliable and stretchy. Kneading techniques include pummelling the dough onto your work surface and picking it up and pulling it round in a circular technique. There are no set ways to knead dough, you are just looking for a good consistency at the end.
Once you have got the end result you desire, don’t continue to knead it or you will work out the essential air bubbles that start the rising process. Once you have made your dough you will finally need to leave it to rise. You can do this by putting it back into the large bowl and covering it with a warm, damp tea towel or by wrapping it lightly in some oiled cling film. If you leave the pizza dough in a warm place such as an airing cupboard it should take around an hour and a half to rise.
After the dough has risen
Once your dough has risen, remove it from the bowl or cling film. You will need to give the dough one final knead to soften it up and remove any air bubbles that have developed. On your floured work surface give your dough one final quick knead. It should then be ready to create any shape pizza you desire.
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Susan is a massive fan of pizzas, and has eaten more than her fair share while lounging in front of a good DVD. She’s provided this article on the perfect pizza dough, at no charge, on behalf of her favorite recliner sofa specialist.
3 COMMENTS
Tammy
12 years agoThe yeast consumes the carbohydrates in the flour and in the added sugar and gives off carbon dioxide that makes the bubbles.
Susan
14 years agoHi BusyMum,
Apparently, you can – however, when I tried to do it it didn't work at all since the amount of ice on it when I took it out thawed and made it too gooey. In saying that, I get the impression my freezer isn't running quite cold enough or I didn't wrap it tight enough.
Judging by further reading, my disastrous attempt at freezing was a rarity. Generally it freezes very well after the first rising (just wrap it in individual portions and you'll be golden).
BusyMom
14 years agoSo, can you freeze the dough? That has been my quest lately.
I need to find the time, but want to do some freeze tests on my bread, cinnamon rolls and bread. My guess is that I would want to freeze after the first rise, the second rise would come during the thaw.
I'm just wondering if you have frozen and any pointers.