Pizza Dough

Name: Pizza Dough
Prep time: 3 h
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 3 h 10 min
Yield: 1 pizza, 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 cup water (between 95 and 115 F.); 2 tablespoons yeast (You can use less, but I prefer the dough a bit yeasty); 2 tablespoons honey; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3 1/2 cups flour

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Submitted by Jeff Hixson

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photo by crazycookinmama

Ready In:: 3hrs 10mins
Ingredients:: 6
Yields:: 1 pizza
Serves:: 6

ingredients

1 cup water (between 95 and 115 F.)
2 tablespoons yeast (You can use less, but I prefer the dough a bit yeasty)
2 tablespoons honey
¹⁄₄ cup olive oil
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
3 ¹⁄₂ cups flour

directions

Pour warm water into a bowl.
The water should be about 85°-115°F.
Test it with your hand.
It should feel very warm, but comfortable.
Add the honey and salt.
Mix on low until well blended.
Add the yeast and mix.
Let this mixture sit for about 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup of flour and the olive oil and mix until well blended.
Add the rest of the flour and mix well.
The dough should turn into a ball.
If the dough does not ball up because it's too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until it does.
If your mixture is more like a batter, add flour one tablespoon at a time.
Adding water or flour as needed to get the right consistency will assure you always get a perfect dough.
Just remember to do it in small amounts.
Once the dough is balled up, place the ball on a floured board and knead for about a minute.
This builds the gluten which helps the dough to rise and become fluffy when cooked.
Place the dough in a covered bowl and store in a warm, dry area to rise.
After about 45 minutes the dough should have about doubled in size.
Punch it down so it deflates.
Let it rise for another hour to an hour and a half.
The dough is now ready to be rolled out.
You can punch the dough down one more time if you want and wait another hour or two before rolling out.
The choice is yours.
This dough can also be made in advance and refrigerated for a day or so, or even frozen.
Be sure to let it come to room temperature before using.
Form the dough into a flat ball about six to eight inches wide.
Using both hands, one on top of the other, press from the center outwards on it to start stretching it out, turning the dough a bit on each push.
You can also pick up the dough and squeeze the edges of it while turning it like a steering wheel.
This allows the weight of the dough to stretch it.
Once the dough is about 1/2" thick all the way around, use a rolling pin to flatten it out to about 1/4" thick.
I usually run the pin over once or twice, flip the dough over and give it a quarter turn and roll it again to make it even.
Take a fork and put puncture holes all over the dough.
This keeps it from bubbling up while cooking and it also helps to hold the sauce on as well.
Transfer dough to pizza peel sprinkled corn meal or place it on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Top with sauce, cheese and/or toppings and bake in a 400° F oven until the crust is light brown.
Bake on either baking stones, a cookie sheet, or a pizza pan.

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Reviews

This turned out wonderful! This is a great recipe for someone who has never made a pizza dough before (like myself) because the instructions are very detailed and the target texture is described so well. Thanks!

Mermaid
Really a great recipe and I deeply appreciated the details on getting it right. I did reduce the yeast to one tablespoon and it worked just fine if you don't like such a yeasty taste. Thanks for posting this one!

d.kilpatrick
Really easy, but not what we like in a crust. We like a chewy crust and this is really soft. Also, too much yeast for us. I had fun making it though, thanks for posting.

Lucky in Bayview
I made this and another pizza dough recipe the other night and this one was wayyyyyyyyyyy better! I loved the honey taste! Tonight I am going to make it again and try using half whole wheat flour and half regular. Thanks!

kda949
Wonderful recipe! I have only made homemade pizza twice. Yesterday was my first time and I tried another dough recipe here on RecipeZaar and it was edible but not enjoyable and wasn't what I was looking for in a pizza crust. So today - my second attempt ever at a homemade pizza - I decided to use this recipe and I was very pleased. Not having much experience or success in dough and bread I was so glad it turned out. It was very pleasing to the palate. As a plus the dough was super easy to work with and didn't give me any trouble at all. I made a single huge pizza with it and everyone in my family enjoyed it. The honey was a nice touch. The crust was a little harder than I would have liked but I had to leave it in a tad longer to get the cheese and topping done a bit more. And I think this may have to do with the fact that every oven is different, so I don't blame that on this recipe. So in conclusion, I will be keeping this recipe in my cookbook and will use it for future pizzas and calzones. I may even tweak it to make it my own. Makes a great thick crust or a great thin crust as well. It is a keeper! Thanks!

Jenn The Chef