This is your basic dough for any Neapolitan-style pizza. Use “00” or all-purpose flour for a more authentic, cracker-like crust for your pizza. Bread flour will give the dough more of a chew.
As with any yeast bread recipe, the exact amounts of flour, water and rising time are dependent on the day’s weather. Follow your intuition.
Pasta per Pizza
Course: BreadsCuisine: ItalyThis is your basic dough for any Neapolitan-style pizza. Use “00” or all-purpose flour for a more authentic, cracker-like crust for your pizza. Bread flour will give the dough more of a chew.
Ingredients
Lukewarm water — 1/4 cup (60 g)
Instant or active dry yeast — 1 1/2 teaspoons
Sugar — big pinch
All-purpose, bread or “00” flour — 4 cups (480 g)
Lukewarm water — 1 1/2 cups (355 g)
Kosher salt — 1 1/2 teaspoons
Directions
- Add the 1/4 cup of lukewarm (about 110 degrees F) water to a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the water and rest for about 10 minutes to activate the yeast.
- Pour 1 cup of the flour in with the yeasty water and mix together well with a spoon or spatula. Add another 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 cup of the remaining water and the salt. Mix together with your hands until it all comes together. Add more water as you mix it to form a smooth dough, not too sticky but not too dry. Sprinkle in a little more flour or water as needed to get a smooth, pliable dough, not too sticky.
- Remove to a lightly floured work surface and knead for another 8 to 10 minutes until very smooth and pliable. (Note: Steps 2 and 3 can also be done in a standing electric mixer.)
- Use your hands to form the dough into a smooth, tight ball. Wipe a large bowl with a little olive or vegetable oil, place the dough in the bowl and flip the dough over to cover it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and place in a warm space to rise until doubled in size, anywhere from 1 to 3 hours.
- Remove the dough to a floured work surface and punch it down with your fists to deflate it. Knead lightly for another 2 or 3 minutes. Cut the dough into either two or four pieces, and form each piece into a smooth, tight ball. Cover the balls lightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled again in size. (Note: You can also refrigerate the dough balls at this stage for up to 24 hours. Doing so adds flavor and makes the dough easier to work with. Simply bring the dough back up to room temperature before rolling out into rounds for pizza.)
- Roll the dough out on a floured work surface and use for any pizza recipe.
Pizza Dough Notes and Variations
- Whole-wheat Pizza Dough: Substitute 1/4 cup of the regular flour with whole-wheat flour. You may have to add a little more water.
- Herbed Pizza Dough: Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs to the dough in Step 2 if you like: basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary.
- Freezing pizza dough to use later: Freeze the dough after it is portioned into balls for later use. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then set at room temperature to complete the second rise.
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