Description
Here’s two versions of ingredients, and instructions that will work for either. The instructions are based on several recipes; Jody’s, Susan’s, and Peter Reinhart’s recipe in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. I don’t claim my recipe below is any better than any of these, but it is as basic as I could make it, without significantly changing the end product.
Ingredients
Scale
- Jody Adam’s Dough Ingredients:
- Makes dough for two 12-inch pizzas
- 3/4 cup 0.2 l warm water
- 1/2 package yeast (scant 1 teaspoon)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups 150 to 175g unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- Susan Regis Dough Ingredients:
- Makes dough for three 12-inch pizzas
- 1 cup 0.25 l warm water
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh yeast
- 1 1/2 cups 150g high gluten flour (1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose, with 1 T gluten)
- 1/2 cup 50g all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup 50g semolina flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Additional 2 tablespoon all purpose flour for dusting
Instructions
- If you haven’t used your yeast in a while, begin by proofing the yeast to make sure it is still active. Combine the yeast and warm water in a large bowl. After a few minutes, bubbles should form. If nothing happens after 10 or 15 minutes, discard and begin again with fresh yeast.
- Add the salt and olive oil and mix well. Stir in the flour(s), 1/2 cup at a time. As you incorporate the last 1/2 cup of flour, the dough should become to stiff to stir. Turn it out onto a floured counter and begin to knead. Continue kneading until smooth and elastic, about 7 minutes or so. Try to use as little flour as possible during the kneading process; the less flour you use, the lighter the dough. The dough should be tacky, even sticky. You can do this in a stand mixer if you prefer.
- Divide the dough into 2 or 3 pieces (one for each pizza you plan on making.) Sprinkle flour over the dough, flour your hands and shape each piece into a ball. Place each ball in a medium bowl, drizzle with olive oil and turn the ball to coat it in the oil. Place each in a large plastic bag and put in the refrigerator to rest overnight, or up to 3 days. Note, at this point you can freeze any extra dough just as they are in the plastic bag for up to 3 months.
- On the day you are making your pizza, remove the dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before you plan to make the pizza. Place the dough balls on a floured counter, sprinkle with flour, dust your hands and press the dough balls into flat discs. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 2 hours.
- An hour before you plan to cook, place your pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500° to 550°.
- Dust a pizza peel, back of a sheet pan or large wooden cutting board with semolina flour or cornmeal. Dip your hands in flour, including the backs and knuckles, and lift one piece of dough. Here are a couple of ways to shape the dough:
- Reinhart: Very gently lay the dough across your fists and carefully stretch it by bouncing the dough in a circular motion on your hands, carefully stretch it by bouncing the dough in a circular motion on your hands, giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Keep your hands well-floured throughout, if the dough begins to stick, put it back down on the counter and reflour your hands. At this point, you can move to the toss, or just continue to stretch. If you have trouble stretching the dough, or if the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes so the gluten can relax, and try again.
- Adams: Take up one of the flattened dough disks, and grasp with both hands kind of like you were holding a steering wheel, but with your hands a bit closer together; at 11 o’clock and 1, rather than 10 and 2, letting the dough hang down. Gravity will be doing the stretching for you. Rotate the dough disc by moving your hands along the edge in a circle. Don’t try to stretch the ball into a full circle all at once; it will gradually stretch, and you may be find allowing the partially stretched dough to rest while you work on another one more effective overall.
- When the dough is stretched to your liking, place it on your peel or pan, making sure you have enough semolina or cornmeal that the disc will move when you give the peel a shake. Top with your favorite toppings, keeping in mind that the more you use, the more difficulty you will have sliding it into the oven, and the crust will not cook as nicely if it is overloaded. I usually pick at most 4 different items, including sauce and cheese.
- Slide the pizza onto the hot stone (or bake on the sheet pan, if you don’t have a stone.) The pizza should cook in 5 to 8 minutes; check halfway through and rotate if necessary to cook evenly on both sides. Remove from oven, and let sit for 3-5 minutes before slicing.