Making homemade pizza dough is not that complicated, I used to worry a lot and resigned myself, at best, to making half-homemade pizzas with frozen pizza dough, but that’s it! I took the plunge and made my pizza! And when are you doing it?
What flour for pizza dough?
For this recipe you will need flour, yeast, salt, sugar, water and olive oil.
As with all yeast doughs, you cannot use just any flour. For the pizza dough, which is nothing more than a bread dough, you will need a gluten-rich flour. The Italians, kings of pizza, use T00, it is difficult to find but not impossible.
If you can’t find any, you can replace it with T45 oatmeal flour (often marketed under the Gruau d’Or brand, it is also not distributed everywhere…) or, at worst, a 50/ 50 of T45 and T55.
How to make homemade pizza dough?
A yeast dough must be kneaded for a long time in order to develop the glutinous network which will give it the suppleness and softness expected when tasted. As for the brioche, you must be able to grab a piece of the dough and stretch it until you can see through it without it getting pierced, this stage is called “the veil”. Be careful however, during kneading, that it does not exceed 25°.
I prefer the use of fresh baker’s yeast which does not need to be diluted in liquid and whose taste I find less pronounced than instant baker’s yeast to be rehydrated. In general, it is stored in the aisle of fresh breads and pastries. You can freeze fresh yeast without any problem. Film it on contact or reserve it in a clean, hermetically sealed glass jar and freeze it for up to several weeks.
If you use powdered yeast, respect the quantities recommended on the package, they vary according to the brands. You will find it in the flour and other baking products section of your favorite supermarket.
In order to reduce the preparation time, in winter I usually let my dough rise in the oven that is off, closed and the light on. The heat from the bulb is enough to ensure sufficient temperature for the dough to grow properly.
Of course, in summer, the ambient temperature of your kitchen will be sufficient. If turning on the oven light bothers you, you can also cover the pan with a hot damp kitchen towel or put a bowl of hot water under the oven rack.
You can also prepare your pizza dough the night before and opt for a slow rise in the refrigerator, so you’ll be ready for lunch.
Homemade pizza dough can also be frozen. Just out of the robot, ball it, flour it and film it in contact before the growth then reserve it in the freezer for several weeks.
With the quantities in this recipe, you should be able to make two pizzas. I divide the dough into two equal portions, I roll it out on a lightly floured work surface and I prepare two pizzas the size of my plates, ie 40X30cm.
Once your homemade pizza dough is made, give free rein to your imagination and decorate your pizza according to your desires. At home, we love the no-frills margherita pizza , tomato, mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil and a few basil leaves when in season.