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Pizza dough We collect all the ingredients, weigh them and combine the ingredients in a bowl or in the mixing bowl. Kneading pizza dough is very easy and you can knead it by hand if you don’t have a dough mixer.
Water in the pizza dough The water in the pizza dough as in any yeast dough must be lukewarm so as not to burn the yeast. Up to 40the C is ideal temperature for yeast dough. If the water is hotter the yeast will burn and not rise. If the water is colder, it will take longer for the dough to rise and we will slow down the whole process. The pizza dough is quite wet but this moisture will give us a crispy pizza on the outside and a fluffy inside. To manage a wet dough properly you should use a little extra flour to fold the dough properly on the counter after you mix the ingredients in the bowl and gather them into a ball. Folding the dough with floured hands and making pulls and folds on the floured counter is essentially like kneading but in a different way so as not to water the dough with too much flour. The process is as follows: With floured hands, pull the dough in opposite directions to stretch it, gather it again and stretch it several times. At first the dough does not have consistency and elasticity. But the more pulls you do you will see the dough transform in your hands. It will become soft elastic and when stretched it will not cut or fray.
To obtain a moist elastic pizza dough we need gluten Gluten is the network that forms so that the dough has consistency and elasticity. Gluten holds more water which creates bubbles in the crust as it turns into steam during baking. A more liquid dough since it has more bubbles will give us a crispier pizza and not a solid one. So by baking a more moist pizza dough, the powerful oven does all the work for a perfect crispy result and delicious pizza!
Flour in the pizza dough Pizza flour, the more protein it has, the more gluten it forms and the more elastic dough it gives us. If the pizza flour you use does not have enough gluten, the dough will never turn out crispy. A high-protein flour helps a pizza dough become crispy and thin. In pizza recipes, we use a little olive oil in the dough and also in the bowl where we will rest the dough.Oil on pizza dough
The oil gives fat to the dough but helps us to manage it properly. It also helps the dough slide and rise evenly in the resting bowl.
Pulls and folds of the dough By pulling and folding the kneaded dough we help the gluten network to develop quickly so that the dough becomes elastic. Holding the ends of the dough with both hands, pull and stretch as if starting the dough. We fold it again and stretch it again several times until the dough acquires consistency, becomes elastic, smooth and malleable. It will transform in your hands from rough and tight to soft and very fluffy. Puffing dough in an oiled bowl Try making margherita pizza which is a classic recipe but also Chicago Pizza which you will love!
By hand or with a mixer
