Incredibly Easy Pizza Dough (or Bread Dough)

Noel is normally the pizza dough maker.  In fact I have to say the patience he has had experimenting with all types of pizza dough recipes has been great - I am sure that he has cursed the fact that we brought him a pizza oven for his birthday!  LOL!

 

Anyways, we tried this recipe the last time we made pizzas and it was really yum as a pizza base. The recipe doubles as bread day also, which I must say is great also.

 

It is a very light pizza base, once cooked.  A little sticky to work with - but Noel swears by the fact that the wetter the dough the better the pizza base.

 

 

Incredibly Easy Pizza Dough (or Bread Dough)

(recipe sourced from Poh's Kitchen)

 

Makes: 4 pizza bases or 2 loaves of bread

 

600 grams plain white flour (best to use good strong baker's flour - higher in protein)

4 teaspoons dried yeast

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

400ml water

Mix one tablespoon of flour, the sugar and yeast with a couple of tablespoons of tepid water and allow to stand for 20 minutes.

 

In a large bowl mix flour, one tablespoon of olive oil and salt.

 

Add yeast mixture and enough water to make up a firm dough and mix well.

 

Cover bowl with damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour.

 

Remove dough to a floured workbench and knead for five or six minutes.

 

Divide dough into 4 and shape onto pizza trays.  Top with your favourite toppings and bake.

 

To make bread:

 

Divide dough into two, knead each into a loaf shape, put in oiled bread tin, cover with damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour.

 

Before baking, sprinkle surface of each loaf with flour.

 

Bake in moderately hot oven (200°C) for about 45 minutes, or until top is golden brown and bottom is light brown. Tap the bottom, it should sound hollow.

(Click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Noel's Pizza Dough

Since Noel received the pizza oven for his birthday in April we have been experimenting with pizza's naturally. It's been fun with trying all different bases from using shop brought to making our own. And while some have been disastrous and messy its been great entertainment to say the least!

A lot of research has gone into our pizza capers - both reading (thank God for Google) and by trial and error.  Definitely the flour has a lot to do with it.  We have purchased some Italian Pizza Flour, which is a high protein flour. According to Lighthouse Baking great dough comes from using a flour with a protein level of 12%. The high gluten level in the flour gives the dough a good elasticity and robustness. Gluten is the key to great pizza dough; it forms strands which bind together like a web during the mixing and kneading process, air bubbles are trapped in this web and expand during cooking allowing the pizza dough to rise. During baking the stretched gluten becomes rigid as the moisture evaporates from the heat of the oven and sets the dough structure. (Not good if you are gluten intolerant - sorry).

However I take my hat off to pizza dough makers - it's not easy that's for sure.  To be honest I think we both started this "dough"quest thinking how hard could it be?  Some flour, some yeast, some water..... well here is the thing... it is HARD!!  

One of my all time favourite pizza bases is at La Camera (I would love to meet the chef there) where their Garlic and Cheese Pizza is to die for.... so soft but not too thick either.  As you can imagine every time we mix a new batch of dough I am thinking about this pizza and praying ours comes out the same... tonight it was very close so we were both really happy.

We are not at the point of spinning the dough to stretch it or throwing it in the air like in the movies but we are getting somewhere with our dough making skills......

Noel's Pizza Dough

Makes: 4 large pizza bases

650 ml lukewarm water

17 grams instant yeast

1 tablespoon caster sugar

900 grams pizza flour

100 grams semolina

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

In a medium jug combine water, yeast and sugar.  Mix well and allow to stand until yeast is fully dissolved.

Place flour, semolina and salt into a large bowl and mix to combine.  We used the blender with the flat paddle but wooden spoon will be fine.

On speed number 1, if using blender, add half the water and mix until it starts to form a dough.  Add remaining water and continue to mix until a smooth dough starts to form approximately 5 minutes. Change to the dough hook and continue to mix dough for a further 10 minutes.

If using your hands continue to mix until all flour is combined and a smooth, soft and springy dough is formed.

Place olive oil in a large bowl and swirl it around to ensure that all of the inside of the bowl is greased.

Place dough in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm position.  Allow dough to double in size, approximately 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

 

Once risen, take out of bowl and divide into 4 balls.  Do not knead.

Spray pizza trays with cooking spray and hand press the dough into shape.

Top with your favourite toppings.

Remaining pizza dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen.  Defrost at room temperature prior to using.

(Click here for a printable copy of this recipe)