How to make Homemade Pizza Dough
Note: You can make your dough and allow to rise slowly over two days in the fridge, or use an hour after kneading if left on the counter.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups bread flour, separated
- 1 ¾ teaspoon instant dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ¾ cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ Tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Corn meal, for use on the pizza paddle (must have!)
Instructions
This recipe makes enough dough for two 9" thin crust pizza crusts. You can choose with 'fast' (90 minutes) or 'slow rise' method (allowing to rise in the refrigerator over a two day period)
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Measure out 1 ¾ cups flour and place in a bowl
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Place ½ cup of the pre-measured flour into a separate large bowl
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Add water, yeast and honey to bowl with the 1/2 cup flour
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Whisk and set aside for 5 minutes.
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After the mixture has rested for five minutes, add salt, garlic powder, and olive oil. Whisk until combined.
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Add remaining flour to the dough mixture one 1/2 cup at a time and stir with a spoon or rubber spatula
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When dough is combined, use your hands to knead into a dough ball
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Turn dough ball out on a generously floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes, adding small amounts of flour to surface until dough stops sticking to your hands and counter.
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As soon as dough no longer sticks to hands or counter, stop adding flour
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Knead until dough is smooth and elastic
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Cover with clean dish towel and allow to sit for 15 minutes
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After the fifteen minutes is up, cut the dough ball in half (this will make two 9" thin crust pizzas)
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If you are using the dough right away, cover dough balls with dish towel and let them rise for another hour. Then, on a floured surface, roll out dough and top with your favorite toppings.
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If you are using slow rise method: brush dough with a little olive oil, place dough ball(s) into quart size baggies or glass bowls covered with plastic and let rise in the fridge for two days. Then follow directions below for rolling and topping dough.
To Make Pizza:
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Place oven rack in lowest position. Place pizza stone on rack in cold oven. . Preheat oven to 450 degrees allowing stone to heat for at least 30 minutes before place pizza on stone.
On floured surface use rolling pin to roll out one dough ball into a 9" circle (does not have to perfect!) Place dough on a pizza paddle coated with corn meal. Place desired pizza toppings on dough.
To transfer pizza from paddle to stone: Place tip of paddle toward the back of the pizza stone. Then use sort of a jerky back and forth motion to slide the pizza off paddle and onto the stone. This can take a little finesse, but you'll get it.
Repeat with second dough ball.