RecipesPIZZA DOUGH RECIPE

PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE

Basic Pizza Dough – How to make a pizza base

Pizza dough is quick and easy to make and tastes much better than store-bought pizza bases. This recipe provides enough dough for 4 individual pizzas of around 30 cm diameter each. This will serve 4 as a main course or 8 as an appetizer. If you divide the dough into 4 balls, each weighs around 170 g. If you don’t want to use all the dough at once, you can freeze the dough once you have rolled it out and lined a pizza pan with it, before baking. Just thaw and fill before baking. This recipe explains how to make the dough before topping. Then you can just choose your favourite pizza from our recipes and use the toppings you like best. Or make up your own combinations. Pizza is fun to make with kids too.

INGREDIENTS

450 g strong white flour
7 g dried yeast (1 sachet easy bake yeast) or 25 g fresh yeast cake
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
250 ml water, lukewarm

METHOD

METHOD

Serves 4

Preparation time: 1 ½ hours

In a small warmed bowl or jug, stir the yeast into the water, smoothing out the lumps with a fork. Stir in the sugar and olive oil. Allow to rest for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, sieve two-thirds of the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and stir in the yeast mixture gradually, mixing with a wooden spoon to form a ball as the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Dust a worktop with some of the remaining flour and knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Continue kneading for 8 to 10 minutes, working in the rest of the flour. The dough will be elastic and smooth.

Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces (170g). Knead each piece into a smooth ball. Place the dough balls on a lightly floured tray with enough room for them to expand.

Cover with a damp tea towel and place the tray in a warm, draught-free room. Let the dough rise for approximately 1 to 1½ hours or until the balls have doubled in size. The warmer the room, the faster they will rise.

Before baking, punch the dough ball down gently to remove excess air. Knead briefly before shaping the dough into flat circles. Pat the ball into a disc shape with your fingers, stretching the dough away from the centre. Use a rolling pin to stretch the dough further. It should be about 5-7 mm thick. If you are using a circular pizza pan, roll the dough slightly larger than the pan to make the crust. Do not let the centre become too thin or the filling will seep through. The average size of the pizzas will be 25-30 cm in diameter.

Oil the pizza pan before placing the dough on it. If using a circular pan (circular pans with holes in them allow for a crisper, better cooked base), fit the dough into the pan, leaving the dough slightly thicker around the edge.

Top with your favourite fillings (see our many recipes) and bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Tips for making pizza base

TIP: Using semolina flour to dust the work surface before kneading will give a crisper dough. That’s how we make our pizzas at ASK Italian.

TIP: Bake the dough within 10 minutes of forming it into circles.

TIP: Make sure the oven is preheated and really hot when baking pizza. It should be at 240°C/475°F/GasMark9. Turn it on at least 15 minutes before baking.

TIP: Kids love making and eating pizza, so get them involved with choosing their favourite ingredients and making the pizzas…they’ll have a lot of fun. We like to feature cooked ham and sliced mushrooms on our Kid’s pizza in the restaurants, but you can make them any way your kids fancy.