basic pizza dough
ingredients
- 200g flour
- 140g water
- 5g salt
- 1/4 tsp yeast
- 1 cup sauce, or to preference
- additional toppings as desired
instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and water to form a sticky dough. Optional: let rest for twenty minutes to autolyse.
- Add salt and yeast; pinch and fold until distributed.
- Cover and let rise in a warm place for five hours. Within the first two hours, stretch and fold the dough three or four times.
- Turn the dough ball out. Working out from the center, spread it to desired thickness. I use this recipe to make a pie the size of a standard iron skillet.
- Top with sauce and other toppings. Bake at 450 or higher to desired doneness.
notes
For flour, basic will suffice: you can produce decent pizza on 100% white flour, store brand, had for under three bucks for a three-pound sack (2024). I often substitute in whole wheat or rye for a bit more complex flavor: sometimes a little (20 grams), sometimes a lot. Use what you have, find what you like.
I start around 140 grams for water. It depends on many variables, including how much whole grain flour was used. It need not be exact. I usually aim for a dough that is sticky at first, but can be easily folded during the rise.
My own habit is to use less yeast and more time. Additionally, I don't do much kneading. In the initial mix, form a tidy ball. Several times during the first two hours of rise, stretch the dough out and fold it back over itself, working all the way around the dough ball. By the second round of folds, the dough should be looking smooth and elastic.
For toppings, I use sauce out of a jar. Even pasta sauce will suffice if jazzed up a bit: black pepper, oregano, garlic, a splash of hot sauce. I like vegetable toppings: pepperoncini, artichoke hearts, onions.
I have baked this on a pizza stone, but it will turn out fine on an iron skillet. I oil a skillet, dust it with corn meal, and form the crust directly on it. I'll put it over a burner while I top it, and when I peek under the crust and start to see it turning golden, it's into the oven at 450 degrees or higher until it looks done.