Pizza. I love pizza. Simple as that, and I love making it too. I fooled around with the crust recipe for years and finally have one that I'm happy with. I tried fresh yeast, and regular rising yeast and then I tried instant yeast which finally gave me what I was looking for in a pizza crust.
This recipe will give you a crunchy and chewy crust that is almost (only almost!) like the pizza I tasted in Naples. Now all I need is a wood burning oven and my pizza quest would be complete!
Top it with anything you like. My favourite is to start with fresh tomato sauce, fior di latte (a fresh local mozzarella), cherry tomatoes and basil with a sprinkling of parmigiano and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Heaven!
Pizza Dough Recipe
Yield: approximately 3-12 inch thin crust pizzas
Ingredients
- 1 lb all purpose flour
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup room temperature water + more if needed.
Method
- Place the flour in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a large mixer such as a KitchenAid.
- Add the yeast and salt, using a whisk to incorporate into the flour.
- Add all of the water at once and then mix on high speed for about 4-5 minutes, until you have a sticky dough that just clings to your fingers.
- Add more water if needed and mix again until incorporated.
- Turn the dough into a clean bowl, cover with cling wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour in a warm place. The dough will not rise a great deal so don't worry when you see how little it has risen.
- Then place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or over night.
- When ready to make your pizza, cut off a piece of dough and return the remainder to the refrigerator.
- Keep stored in refrigerator, tightly wrapped for about a week. I rarely freeze this dough, but you can if you choose. Before freezing, separate into portions.
- To bake pizza, preheat your oven to as high as it will go,500° F will give you a nice crust.
NOTE: I use a hand-held mixer to make this dough, it's a little tricky but because the mixing time is short I just grin and bear it!