Pizza dough recipe and method

[louiselux]

emungere asked me for my pizza dough recipe, so here it is:

This serves two. To feed five I used 500g of flour and upped everything else accordingly. I usually add a beaten egg, but this can be left out. It makes the base very light and fluffy. I don't bother with fresh yeast any more, just throw in dried yeast.

Mix the flour, salt, yeast and sugar together and mix in the oil and egg if you are using one, then make a well in the flour and add the water and mix until the flour has formed a dough.

Add more water if it's too dry and bits are still sticking to the side of the bowl, but don't add too much other wise it will be hell to knead. The dough should not stick to your fingers in any drastic way. In theory the bowl should be left clean, but I always ignore this advice and everything turns out fine anyway. But it's a good guide.

Knead for five minutes. The dough should be wonderfully smooth and silky by this point and you will want to show it to people. If it's not, knead for a bit longer. Oil it, put it in a bowl, then cover the bowl with a damp cloth or clingflim and let it rise once, which you can do overnight in the fridge or in about an hour somewhere warm. Overnight always seems to make really good dough. You can use it after that. You can also use this basic method for a loaf, as you really don't need to let it rise twice.

I usually roll it out on a floured surface until it's quite thin in the middle (perhaps 3-4mm or even thinner), then put it on the pizza tray and press the edges out to fit. Any holes that appear can be easily squidged together.

6 oz (175 g) plain white flour
1 level teaspoon salt
1 level teaspoon easy-blend dried yeast
½ level teaspoon golden caster sugar (in practise I never use sugar, but check your yeast packet to see what it says)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 fl oz (120 ml) hand-hot water

Comments

[new-kate.livejournal.com]

mmmmmm, your pizza. It was so delicious *impersonates Goku*

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Yayyyy. *hugs your Goku impersonation*