Secret #2 to a Super Pizza Crust
Photo courtesy of Flickr and avlxyz
What Will You Find Here?
- The Basics of Pizza Dough
- If You Need More Help With the Basics
- Here's the Secret
- What Does It Do and Why?
- What Do You Think?
- More Secrets of the Perfect Pizza Crust
- Best Pizza Books from Amazon
- Pizza-making on YouTube
- Where Do You Get Your Pizza
- You Could Have a Brick Pizza Oven on Your Countertop!
- American Pie by Peter Reinhart
- Pizza-making Gadgets from Amazon
- Food on Squidoo
- Was This Information Helpful?
The Basics of Pizza Dough
Photo courtesy of Flickr and dalboz17
My suggestions will work on pretty much any pizza dough recipe that you find. The basic procedure is the same. It's those extra touches that make a tremendous difference to your final result. Here is a quick overview of making pizza dough:
3-5 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 package or 2 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
These are the basic ingredients for pizza dough in approximate quantities. You don't absolutely have to add the sugar. You can mess around with the basic recipe by adding olive oil, or use honey instead of sugar. You can add herbs...lots of creative possibilities.
Mix together all of your ingredients, and adjust amounts of flour or water to get a sticky dough.
Knead by hand or in a machine or mixer until smooth and elastic.
Let is rise until double.
Spread it out in a pizza pan, add your toppings and bake.
If You Need More Help With the Basics
Here are step-by-step instructions for the basic recipe.
-
How to Make Pizza Dough Step by Step
-
Learn how easy it can be to make your own pizza right at home. I've included step-by-step instructions to help you make a tasty pizza crust. Making your own pizza is not only satisfying; it saves you a lot of money, too. Ingredients for pizza are muc...
Here's the Secret
Right here! Are you paying attention?
Photo courtesy of Flickr and ninjapoodles
Mix the flour and water together, holding back about 25% of your flour. Mix them just enough to combine. If it looks like a goopy mess, that's good. Then, (here it comes!) cover the bowl and walk away for 20 to 30 minutes. Really, that's it. So simple, but it makes an incredible difference.After the 20 to 30 minute wait, you can go back to your dough and add the salt, sugar and yeast. Mix the dough for several minutes before adding the rest of the flour. Continue on with the rest of the pizza-making process.
What Does It Do and Why?
Did I just waste half an hour?
Photo courtesy of Flickr and Jeff Kubina
When you mix the ingredients together and let them sit for a bit, the flour has time to hydrate. The fancy word for this is autolyse (pronounced ah-toh-leez). Sounds simple, but it's pretty cool. You'll notice the texture of your goop is significantly different after the wait than before. In essence, this wait has done some of the kneading for you. When you use this trick, you really don't have to knead the dough as long.
Flour contains two proteins, glutenin and gliaden. When water is added, glutenin and gliaden get plumped up, start to mix together, and along with the water molecules, begin to form gluten. As you mix the dough, gluten molecules stick together and form longer strands.
Photo courtesy of Flickr and Leslie Duss
During kneading, the gluten strands become stronger and stretchier. Continued kneading aligns the strands into a honeycomb-like network that will trap gas and expand as the yeast goes to work.
The autolyse step allows the gluten strands to form stronger bonds before it the network is formed. Enzymes also work on the gluten, producing a dough that handles and stretches out more easily.
For a nice animated explanation of gluten formation, visit Bread Science at exploratorium.edu.
What Do You Think?
More Secrets of the Perfect Pizza Crust
Visit the other lenses in this series for more great tips.
-
How to Make Pizza Dough Step by Step
-
Learn how easy it can be to make your own pizza right at home. I've included step-by-step instructions to help you make a tasty pizza crust. Making your own pizza is not only satisfying; it saves you a lot of money, too. Ingredients for pizza are muc...
-
Make a Perfect Pizza Crust - Part 1 - Something in the Water
-
Learn how to make a pizza crust that will rival ANYTHING you've ever tasted in a pizzeria. Making a great crust isn't difficult; you just have to know what to do. You are about to join an elite group of "upper crust" pizza makers. No more soggy or ca...
-
Make a Perfect Pizza Crust - Part 3 - Chill Out
-
Welcome to The Perfect Pizza Crust - Secret #3! I'm exploring ways to improve the texture and taste of pizza crust, so that it rivals the very best pizzerias. Secret #3 has had the most dramatic impact of any I've tried so far.
Best Pizza Books from Amazon
Pizza on the Grill: 100 Feisty Fire-Roasted Recipes for Pizza & More
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 07/06/2009) 
List Price: $16.00
Pizza: More than 60 Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pizza
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $12.89 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $18.95
The Great Chicago-Style Pizza Cookbook
Avg. Customer Rating:
Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $16.95
The Ultimate Pizza Manual: Make Pizza Like the Pros... Used To!
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $13.45 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $14.95
Pizza-making on YouTube
Tony shows us how to shape the blob of dough into a pizza shape. It's more interesting than it sounds.
Where Do You Get Your Pizza
Do you make homemade pizza?
Photo courtesy of Flickr and SeriouslyGood1
You Could Have a Brick Pizza Oven on Your Countertop!
American Pie by Peter Reinhart
This is a wonderful resource for pizza people like you.
American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza
Amazon Price: $18.45 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $27.95
Avg. Customer Rating:
Pizza-making Gadgets from Amazon
Check out these helpful items.
Sassafras Pizza Peel
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $18.28 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $19.99
Mario Batali The Italian Kitchen Collection Pizza Peel
Avg. Customer Rating:
Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $32.99
Mario Batali The Italian Kitchen Collection Pizza Wheel with Polycarbonate Wheel
Avg. Customer Rating:
Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $14.49
Sassafras Deep Dish Pizza and Pie Baker
Avg. Customer Rating:
Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $19.95
Cuisinart PIZ-100 Stainless-Steel Electric 12-Inch Pizza Oven
Avg. Customer Rating:
Amazon Price: $94.95 (as of 07/06/2009)
List Price: $185.00
Food on Squidoo
-
Not Your Usual Zucchini Recipes
-
You've made every zucchini recipe in your cookbook, but you STILL have bushels of zucchini left. You've given zucchini away to everyone you know, you've left bags of it in the break room at work, but the garden just keeps producing more. Try some of...
-
Fresh Homemade Mexican Salsa: Traditional and Unusual Recipes and Ingredients
-
The term "salsa" covers a wide variety of tasty meal additions. It literally translates as "sauce," and you can put it on meats and veggies or use it as a dip for your chips. Whatever you do with your salsa, it's sure to spice up your meal. Read on t...
-
How to Make Super Soup - Tips to Make It Tastier
-
I love soup! The possibilities are endless, from simple clear soups to thick, creamy potato soups. It can make a light repast or a complete, hearty meal. Simple or exotic. Savory or sweet. Such potential! What do you do when the soup just doesn't do...
-
INCREDIBLY GOOD RECIPES
-
I read cookbooks like most people read novels. The recipes here have all been tested and have earned the important "husband and kids" Seal of Approval. Most of them have also been tested at Girls' Night and passed with flying colors. I hope you enjoy...
-
Velveeta...Unwrapped
-
An in-depth look at one of the most villified foods in the United States. It's right up there with Spam. Get the history, find recipes you won't believe, learn how to make your own, find out what you do when someone gives you 30 pounds of Velveeta as...
Was This Information Helpful?
I love to read your comments, so be sure to let me know you were here. Thanks for visiting.
TracerXM
I am slightly confused. I have never made pizza dough from scratch before. When you say to mix the flour and water, let it sit, and "then add the yeast"... do you just open the packet and pour the dry active yeast into the bowl with the flour/water mix that has rested? Or are you supposed to mix the yeast with water first? If so, how much of the total amount of water should be used for this, or doesn't it matter?
Posted February 04, 2009
TracerXM
I am slightly confused. I have never made pizza dough from scratch before. When you say to mix the flour and water, let it sit, and "then add the yeast"... do you just open the packet and pour the dry active yeast into the bowl with the flour/water mix that has rested? Or are you supposed to mix the yeast with water first? If so, how much of the total amount of water should be used for this, or doesn't it matter?
Posted February 04, 2009
ZennCar wrote...
Great lens - very well designed! I recently made a lens on "whole wheat pizza dough" that you might like. I know the dough is as nice and stretchy as "white-flour" dough, but it is nice and healthy. My lens also shows how to make your own flour starting from wheat berries.
Posted September 15, 2008
Evelyn_Saenz wrote...
Using a pizza stone in the oven helps with getting a crispy crust. Unglazed Mexican Tiles from a building supply store also work and are much cheaper.
Posted August 17, 2008
