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Simple, 4-Ingredient Homemade Pizza Dough
By Alexandra Stafford
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Last Updated: 11/04/2025
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Made with 4 ingredients — flour, water, salt, and yeast — this simple, no-knead pizza dough recipe can be ready start to finish in 3 hours. It produces a pizza with a ballooned edge and crisp but pliable crust. You can use the dough the same day you mix it or store it in the fridge for up to 5 days (or freeze it!). 🍕🍕
Let’s get straight to it. This is a 4-ingredient, high-hydration, no-knead dough. It is the simplest of the simple homemade pizza recipes and, in my opinion, the tastiest, too. If you have time to prep your dough a few days in advance, you’ll be setting yourself up for serious pizza bliss (read on to learn why) but know that you can make excellent pizza, start to finish, in 3 hours.
The first step to making excellent pizza at home is to get comfortable working with high-hydration pizza doughs. Here’s why:
Why High-Hydration Pizza Dough is Best For a Home Oven
High-hydration doughs, such as this overnight focaccia, are doughs made with a high proportion of water relative to the flour. This high proportion of water creates a pizza crust that stays crisp but moist during the cooking process with beautiful air pockets throughout.
How? Understand this relationship, understand everything:
The lower the oven temperature, the higher the dough hydration. And conversely: The higher the oven temperature, the lower the dough hydration.
A great way to understand this concept is to look at the makeup of a classic Neapolitan-style pizza dough. Neapolitan-style pizza is characterized by a blistered and ballooned outer edge with a soft, thin (and sometimes wet) center. Contrary to what you might expect, Neapolitan-style pizza dough is on the lower end of the hydration spectrum: 60 to 65%.
The reason Neapolitan pizzas emerge light and airy with nearly wet centers is because they cook in 60 to 90 seconds in 900ºF ovens. In this short period of time, very little water evaporates from the dough, which allows it to retain its moisture.
When you bake pizza in a home oven, which can only get up to 550ºF, the baking time is longer, during which time a lot of water will evaporate. If you were to bake a 65% hydration Neapolitan pizza dough in your home oven, you will be left with a dry, tough crust due to all of the moisture loss during the long bake.
So, in sum: to prevent your crust from being dry and tough in a home oven, it needs more water from the start.
Working With High Hydration Dough
Working with high-hydration dough can be tricky, and the best way to deal with it is to handle it gently. During the shaping process — the point at which you are stretching your ball of dough into a 10- to 12-inch round — take care to use a light touch. When you handle the dough minimally, you preserve the bubbles created during the rising. See these bubbles? …
Those bubbles become these ballooned textures throughout the dough:
4 Tips for Making Excellent Pizza at Home
1. Use good, unbleached, and unbromated flour. King Arthur bread or all-purpose flour is my favorite.
What is the difference between bread and all-purpose flour? Mostly the protein content. KAF bread flour has a higher protein content (12.7% protein) than the all-purpose flour (11.7% protein). A dough made with bread flour as opposed to all-purpose flour will absorb slightly more liquid and will therefore be slightly stiffer. If you live in a humid environment and often find your dough to be too wet, using bread flour may help.
What about Tipo 00 Flour? Tipo 00 flour is the flour required in the production of D.O.C. Neapolitan pizza. Contrary to popular belief, the “00” is not an indicator of protein content. It refers, rather, to the fineness of the milling, “00” being the finest grade in the Italian classification system. It is known for the extensible gluten structure it creates in pizza dough. When you use Tipo 00 flour, you may find your dough to be much wetter than when you use bread flour, so you may need to adjust the recipe slightly: use less water or more flour.
While I love using tipo 00 flour (Petra 5063 being my favorite) in my outdoor oven, today I find I get better results — better oven spring and browning — in my home oven when I use bread flour or all-purpose flour, namely KAF, whose flour contains a small amount of malt, which helps with browning.
2. Don’t be afraid of salt.
Salt is important in pizza dough not only for flavor but also for strengthening gluten and controlling fermentation. My preference is Diamond Crystal kosher salt or Baleine fine sea salt, both of which dissolve quickly.
How Much Salt to Use: The rule of thumb with pizza dough is that the weight of the salt should be 2 to 3% the weight of the flour. For this recipe that is 10 to 15 grams. I use 15 grams of salt, and I do not find the dough to be too salty.
Flaky sea salt for finishing. I sprinkle every pizza I bake with Maldon Sea Salt just before it sliding it into the oven.
3. Invest in a Baking Steel.
The single best and easiest/most affordable step you can take to make better pizza at home is to invest in a Baking Steel. In short, steel is a more conductive cooking surface than stone. This means heat transfers more quickly from steel to food than it does from stone to food. Why is this important for pizza? Serious Eats’ Kenji J Lopez Alt offers this explanation:
“How does the baking surface affect hole structure? Well those crust holes develop when air and water vapor trapped inside the dough matrix suddenly expand upon heating in a phenomenon known as oven spring. The faster you can transfer energy to the dough, the bigger those glorious bubbles will be, and the airier and more delicate the crust.”
4. If time permits, make your dough several days in advance.
Why? Because: during a long, slow, cold fermentation, enzymes in both the flour and the yeast will break down the starches in the flour into simple sugars, which will contribute both to flavor and to browning. Moreover, during this time in the fridge, the dough will relax, making it easier to stretch into rounds on baking day.
PS: Simple Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe
How to Make Pizza Dough, Step by Step
Whisk together flour, salt, and instant yeast (SAF is my preference):
Add water, and …
… mix to form a sticky dough ball:
Let rise in a warm spot till nearly doubled, about 1.5 hours.
Turn out onto a floured work surface.
Divide into four portions and …
… ball up, using as much flour as needed.
If you are baking pizza immediately, let the dough rest for another hour before shaping. Otherwise, transfer the balls to storage containers and stick them in the fridge. These Kevjes Dough Storage Vessels have become my favorite:
When it’s time to bake, transfer the dough rounds to a lidded vessel such as a DoughMate or a 9×13-inch baking dish covered with plastic wrap (to prevent the dough from drying out), and let the rounds sit for about an hour at room temperature.
When the dough has proofed, gently stretch it into an 11-inch round, using lightly floured hands:
Transfer the round to a peel lined with parchment paper.
Get your toppings ready. For a classic Margherita pizza, you’ll need tomato sauce, mozzarella, and fresh basil.
Spread about 2 ounces of tomato sauce over your dough.
Top with about 3 ounces of mozzarella. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake on a preheated Baking Steel at 550ºF for 5 to 6 minutes. Shower with fresh basil out of the oven.
The beauty of the Baking Steel + high hydration dough: oven spring.
Troubleshooting
Why is my pizza dough too wet?
It is possible that given your environment and the type of flour you are using, you are using too much water relative to the amount of flour. The fix is simple: reduce the amount of water. Ideally, you are measuring with a scale, so you can ensure you are measuring accurately and making meaningful adjustments. Try holding back 50 grams of water and seeing if that helps.
That said, please read above about the importance of using a high-hydration pizza dough in a home oven. If your dough, upon being mixed, is unable to form a sticky dough ball, you likely need to reduce the water. Reference the video for dough texture.
Why is my pizza dough soggy?
There are several culprits here:
- too much sauce, cheese, and/or toppings
- oven not hot enough
- too short of a baking time
Solutions:
- Invest in a Baking Steel. Read why above.
- Try laying the cheese on top of the dough; then the sauce. The cheese might provide some insulation from the sauce, thereby preventing the dough from getting soggy.
- Consider employing a parbake: bake your pizza “naked” for one minute; then continue baking for 4 to 5 minutes more once topped.
- Try using semolina on your peel.
- Before stretching your dough ball into a round, slick it lightly in a bit of olive oil.
- Use a lighter hand when topping.
PS: If you’re looking for more pizza-making guidance, check out my New York Times bestselling cookbook, Pizza Night, which includes 52 pizza and 52 salad recipes, one pair for every week of the year, as well as five simple desserts 🍕🍕🍕
Simple, 4-Ingredient Homemade Pizza Dough
- Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 pizzas 1x
Description
Made with 4 ingredients — flour, water, salt, and yeast — this simple, no-knead pizza dough recipe is a snap to throw together, and you can use the dough the same day you mix it or store it in the fridge for up to 5 days (or freeze it!). If you love pizza with a ballooned edge and crisp but pliable crust, this pizza dough recipe is for you.
**Attention Pizza Fans: My new cookbook, Pizza Night, is here.**
NOTES:
- This recipe yields 4 rounds of dough. The recipe can be halved but know that the dough can be refrigerated for up to five days. I refrigerate individual rounds of dough in Kevjes dough storage containers.
- The dough can be frozen, too. After the first rise and after you transfer the portioned rounds to quart containers, this is your opportunity to freeze. Transfer the quart containers to the freezer for as long as 3 months. To thaw, remove a container (or more) and let thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day or thaw at room temperature for 4 to 8 hours. Then, proceed with the recipe.
Ingredients & Tools
- Measure Accurately: As always, for best results use a scale to measure. I love this Ooni scale for its precision, especially when measuring smaller quantities of salt and yeast.
- Peel: This is my favorite.
- Parchment: These rounds are so handy for making the transition from the peel to the Baking steel or pizza stone.
- Yeast: SAF Instant Yeast is my favorite. If you need to use active dry yeast instead of instant, sprinkle it over the lukewarm water and let it stand for about 10 minutes or until it gets foamy before adding to the other ingredients.
- Warm place to rise: Here’s a trick for making the perfect warm spot for the dough to rise. Turn the oven on and let it preheat for 1 minute; then shut it off. The temperature will be between 80° F and 100° F. you should be able to place your hand on the oven grates without burning them.
- Flour: You can use bread flour and all-purpose flour here but if you live in a humid environment, I would consider using bread flour if you can get your hands on it. If you are in Canada or the UK, also consider using bread flour or consider holding back some of the water (see next paragraph). Reference the video for how the texture of the dough should look; then add water back as needed.
- Water: I find the sweet spot for me to be about 418 grams of water, which is roughly an 82% hydration dough. That said: If you live in a humid environment, if you live abroad, if you are using all-purpose flour or Tipo 00 flour, if you dislike handling wet doughs, consider starting with 400 grams of water, which will lower the hydration to 77%. If the dough feels dry, add water as needed to get it to the right consistency (reference the video).
- Salt: The rule of thumb with pizza dough is that the weight of the salt should be 2 to 3% the weight of the flour. For this recipe that is 10 to 15 grams. I tend to use 12 to 15 grams of salt, and I do not find the dough to be too salty, but I have a high salt tolerance. Use an amount appropriate to your tastes and preferences. Finally, I always use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, but you can use fine sea salt or whatever salt you like.
- Toppings: In the notes below the recipe, find the toppings for a classic Margherita pizza and for a kale, parmesan, and crème fraîche pizza. See above for 6 other favorite pizza recipes.
- Timeline: Make it Tonight: Plan on 3 hours start to finish from when you mix your dough to when you turn out a freshly baked pizza. Make it Tomorrow (and beyond): Method 1: Mix your dough today, let it rise for 1.5 hours (roughly). Portion it into 4 balls; then transfer to the fridge for up to 5 days. When using dough you’ve stored in the refrigerator, remove it one hour prior to baking.
Ingredients
Please Read All Notes Above Before Proceeding
- 4 cups (512 g) bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for assembly
- 3 to 4 teaspoons (10 to 15 g) kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) instant yeast
- 1.75 to 2 cups (400 to 454 g) lukewarm water
Instructions
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and instant yeast. Add the water. Using a rubber spatula, mix until the water is absorbed and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball. Pour a drop or two of oil over the top and rub with your hands to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in bulk. (Note: Optional Step: If time permits, 30 minutes after you cover the bowl, perform one set of stretches and folds: grab an edge of the dough using a wet hand and stretch it up and in. Repeat this 8 to 10 times, grabbing a different edge each time. By the end, the dough should transform from shaggy in texture to smooth and cohesive. I find performing a set of stretches and folds gives my dough more strength and ultimately more lightness.)
- Prepare the oven: If you are baking the pizzas right away (as opposed to refrigerating the dough for another day), place a Baking Steel or pizza stone in top third of oven and preheat oven to its hottest setting, 550°F. Be sure the Baking Steel heats for at least 45 minutes once the oven temperature reaches 550ºF.
- Ball up the dough: Cover a work surface or cutting board liberally with flour — the dough is very wet, so don’t hesitate to use flour as needed. Turn the dough out onto your floured surface and use a bench scraper to divide the dough into 4 equal portions. With floured hands, roll each portion into a ball, using the pinkie edges of your hands to pinch the dough underneath each ball. If you are not baking the pizza the same day, transfer each round of dough to a storage container (see notes above), cover, and store in the fridge. (At this point, if you plan on freezing the dough, transfer the vessels to the freezer for up to 3 months. See notes above for thawing.) If you are baking right away, let the balls sit on their tucked-in edges for 30 to 60 minutes without touching in a lidded, lightly floured vessel such as a DoughMate or a 9×13-inch pan covered with plastic wrap.
- Proof the dough: If using refrigerated dough, pull out a pizza round (or as many as you wish) from the fridge 60 to 90 minutes before you plan on baking. Transfer the rounds to a lidded, lightly floured vessel such as a DoughMate or a 9×13-inch pan covered with plastic wrap.
- Make the pizzas: Handling the dough as minimally as possible, shape the dough into a 10″–12″ round. If the dough has proofed sufficiently, you should be able to pick it up and stretch it very easily using the back of your hands. Lay a sheet of parchment paper on a pizza peel, and pour a few drops of oil into the center of it. (Note: the oil is optional. It’s especially helpful if you find shaping dough using the backs of your hands tricky.) Transfer the dough round to the parchment-lined baking peel.
- Top pizza as desired or to make the Margherita pizza: spread 2 ounces of tomato sauce over your pizza dough. Top with 3 ounces of mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with a pinch of flaky sea salt. Shimmy the pizza, parchment paper and all into the oven. To make the kale and crème fraîche pizza: Place the kale in a small bowl, drizzle lightly with olive oil, season with sea salt, and toss with your hands till the kale is coated in oil and salt. Spoon crème fraîche over the dough leaving a 1/2-inch border or so—I use 1 to 2 tablespoons per pizza. Sprinkle with the garlic and a handful of the grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Top with the kale.
- Bake the pizza: Shimmy the pizza, parchment paper and all into the oven. Bake the pizza until the top is blistered, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board. Shower basil over the pizza Margherita. Cut and serve. Discard parchment paper.
Notes
Margherita Pizza:
- 2 ounces tomato sauce, such as this one
- 3 ounces fresh mozzarella (if using buffalo mozzarella, drain before using)
- olive oil
- flaky sea salt
- fresh basil
Kale & Creme Fraiche Pizza:
- extra-virgin olive oil
- a couple handfuls of baby kale
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic
- Sea salt, such as Maldon
- 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
- grated Parmigiano Reggiano, about 1/4 to 1/3 cup
- Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Pizza
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American, Italian
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
824 Comments on “Simple, 4-Ingredient Homemade Pizza Dough”
Could you do the first rise in the instant pot on the yogurt setting?
Possibly? I have no idea how warm it gets in there, but if you have had success doing that with other yeasted bread doughs, then go for it.
Hi,
I just made pizza with my wife and used parchment paper…which promptly burst into flames when I tried to put pizza in the oven (an electric pizza oven at c. 750 degrees.). Was the parchment idea strictly for regular ovens reaching a max of 500 degrees?
So sorry to hear this! Yes, it is intended for use in a standard oven (550ºF or lower).
Hi Ali. I LOVE all of your recipes. Your instructions are always spot on. I love the peasant bread, pizza; all of it! I must say that I have problems with using the frozen pizza dough. It loses all of it lovely bubbles and becomes flat…not all of the time but more often than not. It works beautifully when freshly made and baked or three days in the fridge…but the freezing process does not work well for me. What am I doing wrong?
Love the Pizza Night book – great seasonal suggestions and fabulous salads!
Hi Jody! Thanks so much for writing and thanks so much for you kind words… apologies for the delay here. Question before I troubleshoot: Are you freezing sourdough dough balls or yeast dough balls? And what kind of flour are you using?
I have been meaning to do a video on this whole process: freezing, thawing, baking. Soon!
This pizza turned out amazing!!!! Thank you SO much. Favorite one I’ve tried so far. I cooked them on the backside of my cookie sheets, with parchment paper, and it worked perfectly.
Great to hear, Robin! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes 🙂
Flour question for Neopolitan-ish: I have gotten a little spoiled using Italian Type 00 flour for pizzas. Do you still recommend KA bread or all-purpose flour for a home oven (550f with baking steel)?
Freezing comment: I have found that parbaking the crusts for 2 minutes, then freezing works better than freezing the yeast dough for me. It also makes pizza night a breeze – as long as you get it out of the freezer when you turn the oven on to preheat.
Hi Marie! I think it all depends on the 00 flour. I had been using Caputo for forever, then was disappointed recently mostly with my outdoor oven pizzas. I haven’t used Caputo in years for my indoor oven pizzas so I can’t really comment on that. I will say that KAP bread or ap flour contains a little bit of malt, so for people who have trouble with browning in their indoor ovens, I think either of those is a great flour to use. I have been on a big Petra kick since discovering it about a year ago now. I use both of these — Petra 0102 and Petra 5063 — in my indoor and outdoor ovens and have no trouble with browning in either.
Thank you for sharing your tips re freezing! I have been meaning to do a post on this.
Hi, am I able to prebake this pizza dough and then freeze it? Kind the idea of frozen pizzas where the dough is mostly bake and your basically reheating it?
Yes!
We are having tons of trouble stretching out your Neapolitan pizza dough. We have successfully made the dough several times, but ultimately run into issues when attempting to stretch the dough. We are following all the instructions in your Pizza Night book when prepping the dough. We use flour. We’ve tried using less flour and more flour and different flours (bread flour and semolina flour) when stretching. The dough remains super elastic and hard to pick up and move from our floured surface to the peel. When we pick it up, it tries to stick to itself or rips holes or pulls/snaps back into a small circle. Was hoping you had some tips or tricks or videos….
Carolyn, hi! Before I troubleshoot with you, a few questions: are you using a scale to measure? What type of flour are you using for the dough? And do you live in a humid environment?
Hi thanks for the response! We do you a kitchen scale to measure but were wondering if we need an even more precise one for the yeast. We use bread flour and we are not in a humid environment.
An accurate scale does make a difference. I love my Ooni dual platform scale.
A few thoughts/questions:
1. Yes, it’s definitely possible you need to reduce the amount of water slightly.
2. When you do the stretch and fold 30 minutes or so after you mix the dough, do you feel the dough transform and get stronger?
3. I wonder if part of the issue you are having trouble shaping/stretching is perhaps because you aren’t balling up the dough very well after you divide it into 4 portions… do you think you ball up well?
4. How long are you letting the dough proof in the fridge? And how long at room temperature? (Roughly.)
I have a few videos in which I show how to ball up dough:
https://pizzaeveryfriday.substack.com/p/if-your-pizzas-look-like-amoebas
https://pizzaeveryfriday.substack.com/p/save-your-thanksgiving-mashed-potatoes
And in the video in this post, you can see how I stretch the dough: https://pizzaeveryfriday.substack.com/p/zenelis-pizza-genovese
Big fan of this recipe! I have ample sourdough discard in the fridge. Would it be possible to use the discard, and just decrease the water and flour quantities accordingly? Would I need to do an overnight ferment like your sourdough pizza recipe, or is it fine to follow the steps in this recipe since there’s yeast? Thanks so much!
Hi! I think you can use some of the discard but I would not use 100% discard… I worry it won’t be able to develop proper gluten strength. I would suggest 100 grams of discard, and decreasing the flour and water by 50 grams each. You may need to add a little more flour to help the dough come together.
It will be fine! It will probably just rise more quickly, so keep an eye on it. Are you planning on using it tonight or on a future date?
Hello! Yes, it rose fairly quickly. I stuck it in the fridge after a while to calm it down a bit. We will use part tonight and part in a couple of days. I portioned it and balled it up and it’s resting in the fridge until dinner time. It looks great as always though , perhaps a bit more bubbly. Thank you for your quick response! Pizza night still happening! 😊
My pleasure! Apologies for the delay here. Hope pizza night was a success 🙂
This recipe is amazing and I appreciate the details and tips! I also purchased the Pizza Night cookbook and it is my absolute favorite. Every single recipe is perfect and the salads are incredible. My kids love making pizza at home and your cookbook has given us so many heart-filling family dinner memories, for which I am so grateful. Thank you!
One question- I am using the Doughmate boxes to proof in the fridge, and it works but when I take it out to rest prior to baking, the dough balls are very flat and spread out. Seems to bake fine, but I am wondering if this is normal. Thanks for any guidance!
So nice to read all of this, Erin 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to write and share all of this… means a lot 💕
Regarding the DoughMate, as long as you are happy with the final bake, then it’s fine. I do find my dough balls spread more in my DoughMate than when they are confined by the edges of smaller storage containers. But there’s nothing wrong with it! If anything, they probably get less mangled stored in the DoughMate. For space reasons, I store my dough balls in these Kevjes containers; then I transfer the dough to my DoughMate for the room temperature rise, and they always get a little “bruised up” with the transfer… nothing that doesn’t correct itself during the room temperature proof, but definitely something would be avoided if I wasn’t making the transfer.
In sum: if your pizza tastes good and if the texture is fine, keep doing what you’re doing 🙂
Do you have any fresh milled flour pizza recipes? Just bought a miller and love your recipes.
I don’t have any recipes with home-milled flour. I did share a recipe for a pizza dough recipe made with 100% Cairnspring Mills (which is stone milled in small-ish batches) flour over here: 100% Stone Milled Flour Pizza Dough Recipe with Cairnspring Mills
Hi Ali, my countertop oven has a maximum temperature of 464 degree f and I do not having a baking sheet (I will be using those non stick pizza pan with holes at the bottom). Can I have your advice on the time needed to bake the pizzas?
Hi! I think you’ll just need to keep an eye on it. It may take as long as 10 minutes. You might consider adding a parbake, too, depending on how it turns out: If the bottom is too soft, next time around, parbake without any toppings for 60-90 seconds; then top and finish baking.
Do you happen to have a cast iron skillet that would fit into your oven?
Thanks for your reply. No I don’t have a cast iron that can fit in the oven. Will try par baking!
Yours is my go-to website for baking. Appreciate the details and knowledge you shared. Tried your focaccia recipe and it turned out great!
Awww, thank you 🙂 🙂 🙂 I hope the pizza turns out well!
Can this recipe be used to make the pizza dough on the bbq grill? Can you please send me the link to you pizza on the grill recipe? Love all your recipes!!
Hi! I worry it will be a little too high hydration and therefore difficult to handle. That said, if you were to lower the hydration to 70%, I think it will work. That would be: 358 grams of water. You could add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the dough, which will help with extensibility. You’ll need to add one set of stretches and folds 30 minutes after you mix the dough.
For the process, I share a video over here: https://pizzaeveryfriday.substack.com/p/grilled-pizza-a-tutorial
At the bottom of the post, you’ll see a link to the recipe, and in that recipe there is a link to the thin-crust pizza dough recipe from Pizza Night (shared on another site).
Thank you for your detailed response. I can’t seem to find the grilled pizza dough recipe (won’t open when I click on pizza night). Is it possible to send it to me? Thank you, as always!!!
Hi! You can find the thin-crust dough recipe in this google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fREE5xcPaynlu2rAezSfwirpZtjJPW98-yflPmmSuCk/edit?tab=t.0
I still don’t see it when I click pizza night. Sorry
Hi! Click on the link I sent you, which will take you to a Google Doc… scroll to the bottom of the Google Doc and you’ll find the Thin Crust Dough recipe.
Forgive me if this has been asked. I make your Sourdough pizza dough (BOMB!) and it has the 4 sets of folds. This recipe has only 1 set of folds (if that, I see!). Is there any issue with doing a second – fourth set of folds on this dough? Will it lighten the dough more? Or are the multiple folds in the sourdough dough only because of the lack of yeast? Thanks!
No issue! Doing more sets of stretches and folds will strengthen the gluten and you might get some better oven spring in the cornicione especially. Great to hear about the sourdough 🙂 Sourdough tends to be a little more fragile, so more sets of stretches and folds are helpful to strengthen the gluten.
I’ve made this pizza dough a bunch of times now, it’s definitely a go-to and I always have success with the fresh/fridge dough. However, I have had trouble with the freezing/unfreezing of the dough – and hope you can give me some insight. I followed your instructions either to defrost in the fridge for 1 day or leave at room temp for 4-8 hours – I did the latter just recently. (This was a portion of dough that from the same batch – which baked beautifully when I used it fresh originally). I defrosted at room temp for about 6 hours undisturbed, before I started to mess with it. The dough was considerably sticky/wet and hard to deal with at all. Almost like how it is before it’s proofed. That was my first sign that something went wrong. Normally I can stretch it and handle it pretty easily. I hoped that its stickyness would be mended in the baking process but unfortunately it baked really weird too – it had an almost glue-y consistency, very tough/dense. Didn’t feel like bread honestly. Hardly any bubbles. It didn’t really rise much. The outer crust was kind of thin and dry looking. This is my second failed attempt with the frozen dough. Any thoughts as to what is going wrong? Is the yeast just not surviving the freezer/not strong enough? Should I have left it out even longer so that it can essentially rise again? I’ve frozen/defrosted store bought pizza doughs with success, for example, but this one never turns out. Not a big deal because I know the recipe is great but I want to be able to freeze half of what I make. Thanks for your help – I love your site!
Hi! And bummer to hear this. What kind/brand of yeast are you using? I’m wondering if this might be making the difference. I will have to revisit the method, too, and circle back with more notes.
Hmm yeah maybe it’s the quality of the yeast. I’ve been using instant yeast from Meijer brand – I actually have the Saf instant yeast that you always recommend – in my cart for an online order as we speak.
I do think the yeast matters. The people at Baking Steel actually use more yeast when they plan on freezing their dough. I don’t love this idea, because I feel like it messes with the batch of dough you make initially, but I wonder if SAF is more concentrated than other brands. Again, I need to revisit the method to include some more notes here. Stay tuned!
Hi!
Hope you’re well
Could this pizza be dressed and frozen and baked at a later date?
Hi! I have not done this, so I cannot say, but what I have been doing recently is freezing fully cooked pizzas — I undercook them slightly, just by a minute. Let them cool completely. Freeze. Bake frozen directly on the racks at 400ºF for 8-10 minutes.
Hi Ali,
My oven goes to 550 degrees, and we were going to set the oven to 500 degrees. We have a pizza stone and will preheat for 45 minutes. I am worried about the parchment paper. The box says it is good up to 425 degrees in an oven. Should I cut the paper into 12″ circles and make sure the dough covers it completely or should I find parchment paper that will accommodate the 500 degree oven? I am really not sure what to do here. Please Help!
Hi! You can cut the parchment paper, but you can also simply use the parchment paper you have as is: all parchment papers include that warning, but they never catch fire in the oven — they’ll char a little bit. Do not use the parchment under the broiler, where it will catch fire.
Out of curiosity, why are cooking at 500ºF as opposed to 550ºF? Does your pizza stone have a temperature limit?
I’ve done the one in the book, with half the yeast, and the use of cold water. This requires 1-3 days proofing.
Is this recipe (here) okay for same day because of the increased yeast and warm water? Just wondering, thank you!
Yes, exactly. I think I prefer the book method: less yeast, long slow initial rise followed by fridge time if time permits, but this one comes out similarly and is great if you need pizza in 3 hours 🙂
Can I adapt this to work in a 900 degree high heat pizza oven?
Yes, you’ll need to lower the hydration considerably: I’d use between 310 and 330 grams of water. Because of the lower hydration, you’ll need to knead the dough briefly to get it to form a cohesive ball. It might take longer to rise as well due to the lower hydration.
Hi Ali,
I have loved making this dough in my oven using the baking steel and the round parchment. However, I just got a Gozney Arc and made the dough the same way and I had such a hard time getting the dough onto the peel and into the oven. I’m wondering if you make any adjustments when you make this dough for your outdoor pizza oven. Thanks always for your amazing recipes!
Hi Amy! Yes, you’ll want to reduce the hydration considerably. My preferred method for the Gozney Dome is to cook my pizzas at 650ºF-750ºF for 2.5-3 minutes (as opposed to 800-900ºF for 60 seconds). At that temperature range, I find 68-70% hydration to be great depending on the flour you are using (if using a tipo 00 type flour, 68%; if using a bread or ap flour, 70%).
Because the dough will be lower in hydration, I’d suggest adding a set of stretches and folds 30 minutes after you mix the dough. Let me know if you have any more questions 🙂
Thanks so much for your response! I will try this!
Great recipe! I made this instead of my usual flatter pizza dough and it was amazing. It yeilds a light and fluffy texture and was amazing even though I used a pizza stone instead fo a metal plate for cooking. I don’t know if it is becasue I am not very good at streching the pizza out but the pizzas were quite small so I think I would make the dough balls bigger next time.
Great to hear, Carina! Thanks for writing and sharing your notes. You can definitely make bigger dough balls next time around 🙂
Simple, easy and tasty! Question. How can the dough be more Neapolitan and thinner, with more bubbles? Should I proof it longer?
Thanks!
Hi! A few questions:
What type of flour are you using? Are you using a scale to measure? And how are you baking it…Baking Steel or pizza stone or other?
Hi Ali! Bread Flour, no scale and baking steel!
OK, great re bread flour and Baking Steel. I highly recommend investing in a scale to ensure you are measuring accurately. This is a high hydration dough, which you want for a home oven, and the dough should be wet and sticky upon mixing (though will transform into smooth and elastic if you do the optional stretch and fold step 30 minutes after mixing).
How long are you letting the dough balls proof at room temperature before baking? And when you go to stretch them out, do they stretch out easily or is the dough stubborn and resistant?
Hi Ali: I finally gave this a try and we both enjoyed the Margarita one. But my crust was not crispy on the bottom and got a bit thin; I think I need to work on my ‘stretching’ of the dough – it looks like it is a bit of a learning curve, but I have three more to try from the batch of dough I made so Saturday is the night and I will share with grandkids.
I also think it is not the same baked in a regular oven that doesn’t really go much past 475-500. And I am not ready to invest in the baking steel just yet. I almost bought those cute dough keepers but it worked out find just using the clear containers that I already had. A bit silly to invest too much at my advanced age with just two of us. But I do believe it makes a difference. Is the sheet pan the 2nd best way to bake pizza?
Great instructions and I read them over several times before jumping in. One realizes just how inexpensive it is to make pizza at home and they are so much better!! I think your book would be helpful so maybe getting that would answer a lot of my questions. Take care and thank you again for all your wonderful recipes! I’ve never had a failure with your clear and understandable teaching.
Hi Judi! Thank you for your kind words. I do think the Baking Steel makes a huge difference in the texture of the crust, both in creating a lightness, due to the oven spring it allows, and a crispness, due to the heat it emits. There is definitely a learning curve especially with the stretching of the dough part!
What did you use to bake the pizza on? After the Baking Steel, I would suggest using a preheated baking sheet (an old one you don’t care about) or a preheated cast iron skillet if you have one large enough.
I am excited to make this dough this weekend! Am I understanding correctly that the pizza is actually being baked in the parchment paper? Or is the parchment for ease of transfer to a stone? Would it be successful just baking on a stone without parchment?
Thank you!
One more question….do you only do the stretch and fold after the 1st 30 minutes or every 30 minutes until it’s done?
For this recipe, I only do one set of stretches and folds, thirty minutes after the first mix.
Correct! The pizza is baked on the parchent paper on the Steel or stone… you can open the oven after a minute and pull out the parchment, but using parchment makes the transfer to the oven seamless.
Love your pizza recipes. Want to try your homemade pizza sauce. What are some white wines you recommend? I’m not a savvy wine buyer and want to buy something that works well and is drinkable.
This did come together in under three hours and the pizza crust is really fantastic – crisp base and soft interior 🙂 This is a keeper.
Great to hear, Shub! Thanks for writing 🙂
Hi! After leaving my dough for first rise, it didn’t really rise or spread out in the bowl like yours. It literally rips in my hands… what went wrong? I used King Arthur pizza flour, is that the issue?
Yes, it’s likely due to the flour — pizza flour/tipo 00 flour has a weaker gluten structure than bread flour, and it also requires less water, so this dough is too high hydration for that flour. Questions: are you using a scale to measure and are what kind of yeast are you using?
Yes I use scale to measure and I used active dry yeast
Great to hear, Kasia. And do you live in a humid environment?
Next time, I would try 100% bread flour. I think you’ll get better results.
Are you baking the pizzas in a home oven on a Baking Steel or a pizza stone? If not, how are you planning on baking your pizzas?
Yes I will try bread flour next time. I use King Arthur organic bread flour for most my baking… I’m in NJ so not super humid, depending on weather… and I bought baking steel based in your recommendations! I tried it with a pizza dough from our local pizzeria and it was great!
I also tried your sourdough pizza recipe and that was also a total fail that’s why I was hoping this one would be better
Great re all of the above. I think you’ll have great results with bread flour. When you go through your supply of ADY, buy some SAF — it’s so nice not to have to “bloom” it first.
Ali, I’ve been working on my pizza game for almost two years but just found your pizza school and feel like some of it has finally sunk in for me. (Not sure how I just now found pizza school, but such is life!)
And I just had one of my best pizza days ever!
I also used your method for Hazan’s Tomato Sauce for my pizza and it was amazing!
My question is this: could the humidity in the air affect launching my pizza into my Ooni? I’m in Texas and today is a particularly dry day.
Great to hear, Yvette! Thanks so much for writing.
Yes, humidity can definitely affect how the dough performs when it’s time to launch. Question: did you make this recipe as written or did you lower the hydration for the Ooni?
Thanks for your response. I did lower the hydration to 70%. And I used 00 flour exclusively.
My dough was in the fridge for 3 days, I took it out this morning before 9am for a 12:30 lunch.
Anyway to post a pic here? I’m kind of proud of my pies!!
Great to hear! I wish there was a way to post pictures 🙂 You can email me! alexandra@alexandracooks.com
Hello Ali. Since I can’t handle all four balls of dough within a week, do you think it’s better to parbake the crusts or freeze the dough?
Hi Kate, recently I’ve preferred parbaking the crusts — it just feels like a better use of the hot oven and the parbaked crusts feel more accessible than having to thaw dough and go through the remaining proofing/stretching/topping process. I also have been freezing the fully baked pizzas. I under-bake them just slightly, let them cool completely, then freeze them. To cook: bake directly on the racks or on a baking stone or steel at 400ºF for 8-10 minutes.
This pizza dough turned out great! I followed the recipe exactly, but cooked it on a pizza peel on the grill at 550, instead of the oven. I cut the recipe in half and then used all of the dough for a single, larger, pizza. I was so happy that I was able to execute this on the same day and the results were excellent! Nice and crisp outside and chewy and soft inside. I will definitely use this recipe again!!
So nice to read all of this, Alyssa! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. So glad your grilled method worked well 🙂
Is this dough outdoor pizza oven friendly? Thanks in advance
No! You’ll need to lower the hydration to roughly 68-70% depending on the temperature you are cooking your pizzas at. So use 348 to 358 grams of water.