Basic pizza dough

Use for grilled or oven-baked pizza.

Grilled pizza. Credit: Project Fire

• makes

  8

• prep

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 envelope active dry yeast (2½ tsp)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1¼ cups warm water
• 3½ cups unbleached white flour, or more if necessary
• 1½ tsp coarse salt
• About ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Yeast mix standing time: 5 minutes.

Dough rising time: 2-2½ hours in total (including optional second rise).

Instructions

1. Combine the yeast, sugar and water in a small bowl and stir to mix. After 5 to 10 minutes, the mixture should look foamy. Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a plastic dough blade or a metal blade and pulse to mix. Add the yeast-water mixture and 1½ tablespoons of oil and run the machine in short bursts to obtain a smooth, soft dough. It should be moist but not sticky. If necessary add more flour a spoonful at a time, running the machine between additions, until the dough is the proper texture. You can also make the dough in a mixer fitted with a dough hook: Place the yeast, sugar and water in the mixer bowl. When foamy, add 1½ tablespoons oil, and the salt and flour. Mix at low speed to form a smooth, soft dough.
2. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead it by hand for a few minutes. Lightly coat a large bowl with the remaining oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1½ hours.
3. Punch down the dough and let rise until doubled in bulk again, about 1 hour. This second rising isn’t absolutely imperative, but your crust will be lighter if you have the time to do it.

Note

This dough can be used in Stephen Raichlen’s grilled pizza recipe. The recipe makes enough for four medium-sized pizzas.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.