Pizza dough recipes for your Authentic woodburning outside pizza oven

Making pizza dough is easy enough, but if you are an aficionado of Italian food, you already know that it’s worth the effort to find an authentic recipe! Doing so with pizza dough ensures you are rewarded with perfect pizzas every time. Every one who has ever made their own pasta will know that it bears no resemblance to the bland, dried product that you can buy in the supermarket.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with using a prefab pizza dough base, if you truly love pizza you owe it yourself to taste the best pizza dough! You are likely never to go back to the pre-made pizza bases. Personal preference decides what pizza dough is perfect for you, and at the end of the day home made pizza dough is made from water, yeast, salt and flour. However, particular attention must be paid to the process for the dough to be perfect.

How To Make Pizza Dough

Strong white flour is best (in some countries this flour is marked as bread flour). Although plain flour can be used as well, it does not have the same high gluten content and therefore the finished pizza dough will not be as stretchy. Watching a pizza chef doing acrobatics with the dough is proof enough how elastic the dough should be, they throw it in the air and catch it with their fingers without it leaving a dent in the dough. This shows that the gluten has done its work and the pizza dough is robust and flexible. Whilst it is technically possible to get the pizza dough to rise faster by placing the dough in a warm place, experts tend to agree that the finished pizza dough is best left to rise naturally, whatever the pizza dough recipe. After kneading the dough should be left to double in size naturally. This should be a process that is completed by the eye and not the clock. It can take anything between 1 hour and 2 hours depending on the temperature.

Pay attention to the kneading process: it eliminates excess gas produced by the yeast and knocks the air out of the pizza dough. Many people find the action of kneading the dough very therapeutic and chefs are often asked how you can tell when the dough is kneaded sufficiently. The answer is: you can feel it in your hands (practice makes perfect). Pizza dough keeps in the refrigerator for several days and frozen pizza dough can be kept for several months. I always have frozen pizza dough in the freezer for emergencies, and I find that if it is frozen in pieces the size of golf balls then it is defrosted in ten minutes. Make sure your bases are as thin as you can get them:)

Styles of Pizza Dough

What shape and size your pizza should be depends on how many people you want to feed and how traditional you want to make the pizza. Pizzas are not always round. the Sorrento region in Italy is famous for its rectangular pizza. Though in theory pizzas can be any shape, a shape such as a crescent is not practical to pick up, as the filling will hold in the centre and fall of the edge. Really the only important thing you have to decide is how thick or thin you want to make your finished pizzas. For the traditionalists regarding Italian pizza dough recipes, there are two schools of thought – dominated by the Romans and the Neapolitans.

The Classic Neapolitan pizza dough shape

The Neapolitans favour a thicker pizza with a rim. The dough should be a little over 3mm or 1/8 of an inch thick. The edges are a little thicker so that they will puff up in the cooking process. This means that this will form a natural barrier and keep the filling in the centre.

The Classic Roman pizza dough shape

The Roman style pizza does not have a rim because their pizza fillings are more viscous and they tend to stay in place and not have a tendency to slide off the pizza. The pizza is never more than 3mm or 1/8 of an inch thick.

Thin Crust Dough is probably the most widely known type of pizza dough and is usually used for traditional pizzas throughout Europe and in the United States. Thin crust pizza bases are perfect for pizza lovers who prefer to taste more of the sauce, cheese and other toppings and don’t want to be filled up too quickly. It’s usual to make thin pizzas larger than thick based pizzas.

Ingredients Required:

  • 1 envelope of dry yeast
  • 1/4 teaspoon of sugar
  • 3/4 cup of lukewarm water
  • 1 3/4 cups of unbleached plain flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Step by Step Procedure:

  • Combine 1 envelope of dry yeast, 1/4 teaspoon of sugar and 3/4 cups of lukewarm water.
  • Mix a little and let sit for 6-8 minutes.
  • Combine 1 3/4 cups of unbleached plain flour with 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a bowl or food processor.
  • Pour the water combination into the bowl (or food processor) and mix until ready to knead (around 30 second in a food processor). If using a bowl, mix with a spoon until you have a neat ball.
  • Prepare a lightly sprinkled surface with flour. Turn out dough and knead for around 2-3 minutes.
  • Lightly cover your finger tips with flour if the mixture is a little sticky.
  • Roll out by hand for a 12” base.Place in 12” lightly oiled oven pan.
  • Press out dough to form a slight lip.
  • Prepare and apply your sauce and topping or choice.
  • Cook in a pre-heated over (500F) for 8-12 minutes.

Remove from oven, slice and share with your favourite friends and/or family members!