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Pizza Dough

Ingredients

Flour - 1000g
Water - 700g
Yeast - 2g    (instant yeast)
Salt  - 20g   (Sea salt if you have it, otherwise any will do)
Sugar - 20g

Instructions

Part 1: Autolyse / inital dough mix

  • First take a few spoons of water and set it in a bowl to the side
  • Add the rest of the water to the flour
  • Mix until you can no longer find dry flour

Note: Keep a bowl of water near by to wet your hands as you mix the dough, this won't add much water to the dough

But it will help prevent the dough from sticking to your hands

AND it will help you get some of the stuborn dry flour mixed in

  • once incorperated, cover the bowl with a wet cloth

and wait 30 minutes. This is called autolyse.

What is autolyse?

Because we only added water and flour, the water is activing enzymes in the flour, without yeast or salt messing it up.

The water rehydrates the flour, activating enzymes in the flour. These enzymesn start breaking down statch and proteins in the flour.

Supposedly the break down of the starches gives your dough a sweeter flavor.

But the thing that I love about it, is you walk away for 30 minutes and when you come back you have some really good gluten development.

Part 2: Add yeast, sugar, salt

  • In a separate bowl mix the yeast and water you set aside. (it's important you reserver water from the original 700 grams, otherwise you will change the overall hydration of the dough)
  • Once the yeast is all wet, add it to the dough, if some is stubborn and stuck in the bowl. Use some of your dough to wipe it out.
  • I normally mix the yeast in a bit before adding the sugar and salt.
  • Add the sugar and salt and mix until you no longer can find any dry ingredients.

Part 3: Cover, place in the fridge overnight

  • Cover the bowl with a wet cloth
  • Place in the fridge overnight
  • This will give a slow fermentation, which will develop the flavor of the dough

Part 4: In the morning

  • Remove the dough from the fridge

(Optional) : allow it to sit in it's bowl (still covered) for 4-5 hours, if you want develop more flavor.

  • flour your work surface
  • remove dough from the bowl and place it on the floured surface
  • cut the dough into 2 pieces (for 12" pizzas) or 4 pieces (for 9" pizzas)
  • shape your dough into balls by pulling the sides and laying them on the top. This wraps the flourd bottom part around the dough.
  • Let the dough rest for 10 minutes
  • pick it up and let gravity pull it down, then rotate it like a steering wheel, so gravity helps you form it into a disc (pizza) shape.

part 5: add toppings and cook

Preheat oven to 525F
(I use a 12 inch pizza pan, if you have a stone, or cast iron skillet, you can use that)
(my 9 inch cast iron skillet make the bottom super crispy, but I had to make 3 pizzas to feed the family)
(I opted for a 12 inch pan so I didn't need to spend so much time standing by the oven)

Ok so toppings
Add Pizza sauce (I use store bought for now, but wanna find a good recipie to make my own)
Then add Whole milk mozzarella cheese (better flavor than low fat mozzarella)

These are my go to toppings but you can get creative.
Italian sausage
Bacon
Pepperoni (add the pepperoni on top, it allows it to get extra crispy and it's amazing)

Place the pizza in the oven (on the lower rack)
Cook for ~ 15 minutes

If you want to make the pepperoni extra crispy, move the pizza to the top rack, and set the oven to broil.
After about 1-2 minutes you'll have some amazing crispy pepperoni.