When it comes to making your own pizza, the dough is often the most daunting part of the process. This is probably why so many people turn to store-bought pizza bases or dough. In actuality, making your own pizza dough is quite simple, tastes great, and doesn’t have to take any longer, or cost any more, than buying a base at the store.
Here is a perfect simple recipe for a great classic homemade pizza dough.
Pizza Dough Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups bread flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- 7g dry active yeast
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ cups lukewarm water
Directions
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix together the yeast, sugar and oil. Then pour the liquids into the flour-salt mixture and mix, in a circular motion until the dough comes together and you’re able to knead the dough with your hands (after dusting them, and your work area with flour).
Oil a bowl and place the dough inside. Sprinkle flour on top, cover the bowl with a moistened dishtowel and let sit in a warm place until the dough ball has doubled in size, about one hour.
Remove dough, knead a few times and it will be ready to use. If using right away, tear it into four balls and roll them out into rounds (or squares or triangles) of about ¼ inch thickness. If using later, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store in the fridge or the freezer.
Did you know?
It may be extremely hard to state who created the pizza as we now know it. Proof of ancient bread dough prepared on flat stones could be tracked entirely back to early Greece and Egypt. Nowadays however, the making of a pizza may appear far more complex and most frequently related to Italy.
Naples, the historic famous town of Italy, has been considered by many the mother of pizza heritage. The simple technique of topping flat plain circular dough with seasonings, some herbs and even leftovers started there, giving this town such unique culinary reputation. Nevertheless, some experts debate as archaeologists found out that even cavemen in other areas of the world blended smashed wheat or grain germ with water and prepared this mix on burning stones.
That is probably the beginning of pizza in Europe and the Neolithic-era chefs who prepared dough over hot coals possibly didn't refer to it as pizza, but a warm, crunchy, soft pizza crust by almost every other title is still a pizza crust.