I've been making Giada's pizza dough recipe for years ever since my cousin Christine told me she makes it. I recently asked her if that's what she still makes, and she said she mostly makes the Sally's Baking Addiction pizza dough recipe these days, as well as the Stromboli recipe which uses the same dough. I finally gave it a try today and it was really good!
I used active dry yeast and let the dough rise for 1.5 hours, then punched it down and let it rise another 1.5 hours before I divided it and spread it in pans. The recipe doesn't say to punch it down, but I had the extra time and I'm used to doing that. I also used Caputo 00 Flour instead of all-purpose.
This recipe makes two 12" pizzas. I like making 3 pizzas because that perfectly uses up one 16-ounce block of mozzarella that I slice up (I never use shredded mozzarella on my pizzas). Since I had never made this recipe before, I did 1.5 times the recipe which worked out fine for 3 pizzas. My pans are 14" big, so next time I think I will double the recipe and see if I like it more with a slightly thicker crust.
Since it's a Friday in Lent, my topping options were limited. One of my sons will only eat cheese pizza, so I made two cheese pizzas with sauce and one "white" pizza with ricotta. I have not made a ricotta pizza in a very long time so I just experimented and I thought it came out pretty good. I like to use ricotta with simple ingredients like the Galbani Double Cream version or Galbani Classic version. I lightly sautéed a few cloves of chopped garlic in olive oil and spread that over the sliced mozzarella. Then I mixed about 8 ounces of ricotta with salt, pepper, oregano and some Romano cheese and spread that on top of the mozzarella and garlic/olive oil mixture and then put more grated Romano cheese on top. Next time I'll put the mozzarella on top of the ricotta to see which way I like better.
This recipe was really good. My husband and sons seemed to enjoy the extra crunch from the cornmeal (my mom has used cornmeal on her pizza pans for years but I usually just use olive oil on my pans). I'm happy to have another delicious pizza dough recipe to use so I'm not always making the same one!
Easy Homemade Pizza Dough
Recipe Courtesy Sally’s Baking Addiction
Follow these basic instructions for a thick, crisp, and chewy pizza crust at home. The recipe yields enough pizza dough for two 12-inch pizzas and you can freeze half of the dough for later. Close to 2 pounds of dough total. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
1⅓ cups (320ml) warm water (about 110°)
1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
2¼ teaspoons (7g) Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast (1 standard packet)*
3½ to 4 cups (438–500g) unbleached all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
2 Tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
1 teaspoon salt
Sprinkle of cornmeal, for dusting the pan
Whisk the warm water, granulated sugar, and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. If you don’t have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula in the next step.
Add the flour, olive oil, and salt. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise.
Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil—just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60–90 minutes or until double in size (see note at the bottom of recipe for rise time depending on which yeast you use).
Preheat oven to 475°. Allow it to heat for at least 15–20 minutes as you shape the pizza. (If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to preheat as well.) Lightly grease baking sheet or pizza pan with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal, which gives the crust extra crunch and flavor.
Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half. (If not making 2 pizzas, freeze half of the dough for another time. See freezing instructions below.) On a lightly floured work surface using lightly floured hands or a rolling pin, gently flatten the dough into a disc. Place on prepared pan and, using lightly floured hands, stretch and flatten the disc into a 12-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick. If the dough keeps shrinking back as you try to stretch it, stop what you’re doing, cover it lightly for 5–10 minutes, then try again. Once shaped into a 12-inch circle, lift the edge of the dough up to create a lip around the edges. I simply pinch the edges up to create the rim. If using a pizza stone, place the dough directly on baker’s peels dusted with cornmeal.
Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for a few minutes as you prepare your pizza toppings.
Top & bake the pizza: Using your fingers, press dents into the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Lightly brush olive oil over the top of the crust (optional). Top with the toppings of your choice and bake for 13–15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Slice hot pizza and serve immediately. Cover leftover pizza tightly and store in the refrigerator.
NOTES:
Freezing Instructions: This recipe yields enough dough for two 12-inch pizzas, a little less than 2 pounds (900g) total. After the pizza dough rises and you divide the dough in half (step 5), you can freeze one of the balls of dough to make pizza at a later time. Or you can simply freeze both balls of dough separately. Lightly coat all sides of the dough ball(s) with nonstick spray or olive oil. Place the dough ball(s) into individual zipped-top bag(s) and seal tightly, squeezing out all the air. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place the frozen pizza dough in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight. When ready to make pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to rest for 1 hour on the counter. Preheat the oven and continue with step 5, punching down the dough to release air if needed.
Overnight/All Day Instructions: Prepare the dough through step 3, but allow the dough to rise for 8–12 hours in the refrigerator. (If it needs to be in the refrigerator for longer, use cooler water (about 70°) in the dough, which will slow the dough’s rise and allow for more time.) The slow rise gives the pizza dough wonderful flavor! When ready, continue with step 4. If the dough didn’t quite double in size overnight, let it sit at room temperature for 30–45 minutes before punching down (step 5).
Yeast: Red Star Platinum yeast is an instant yeast. You can use active dry yeast instead. The rise time will be at least 90 minutes.
