Pizza Dough

On Friday I finished my first year of medical school, which is just insane!  The year has flown by, and now I am officially 1/4 of a doctor.  To celebrate the momentous occasion, I decided to make my first solo attempt at homemade pizza.  My dad is an excellent at-home pizza chef, and I have been his assistant several times.  He usually takes care of the dough, however, which is the biggest challenge of homemade pizza.  Yeast, kneading, rising...the words strike fear into the hearts of many seasoned cooks.  The key to working with yeast is to have the liquid at the appropriate temperature.  If you can get that step, the rest is straightforward.

I turned to the great Mark Bittman, a food journalist and author for the New York Times, for my dough recipe. It worked very well, and I could make it in my food processor (awesome invention).  No worries if you don't have a food processor, you can get in an arm workout with your heavy wooden spoon.  When the dough becomes too heavy to stir, use your hands.

Pizza Dough

Time: 1 hour or more
Makes 1 large or 2+ small pies

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp coarse kosher salt or sea salt
1 cup water, plus more as needed
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1. Warm the water to 120-130ºF, checking with a thermometer.  Do not skip this step!  Too cold, you won't activate the yeast, and your dough won't rise.  Too hot, you kill the yeast, same result.  Once the water is warm enough, add a little bit of the 2 tsp yeast to the water to make sure it is good yeast.  It will smell yeasty, and the water will become cloudy.  Go ahead and use this yeasty water in the next step.

2. Combine the flour, remaining yeast, and salt in a food processor.  Add 1 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of oil through the feed tube.

3. Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture forms a slightly sticky ball.  Do not add more than 1/4 cup of water here.  If it is too wet, which is unlikely, add flour a tablespoon at a time.

4. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for a few seconds to form a smooth, round dough ball.  Smear the remaining olive oil in the bowl, turn the dough in it, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise until it doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours.  You can also let it rise in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours.
Once the dough has risen, you can do two things:
(a) Cut it in half, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer bag, and freeze for up to one month.  When ready to use, let it defrost in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
(b) Proceed to step 5 with your remaining dough.

5. Form the dough into a ball and divide it into however many pies you are going to make.  Place each ball on a lightly floured work surface, sprinkle with a little flour, and cover with plastic wrap or a towel.  Let the dough rest until it puffs slightly, about 20 minutes.  Proceed to shaping your dough!

Dough before rising

Shaping the Dough

When you think of shaping pizza dough, you imagine those cool dudes tossing it up in the air and throwing it to each other - basically having the time of their lives with the dough.  That's one of those things you probably should not try at home.  Instead, you can use part of their technique, which is allowing the weight of the dough to stretch the dough.  

Working on a lightly floured surface, flatten the dough into a circular disk.  Pick up that disk and begin to move your hands along the edge, as if you are steering a wheel.  The dough will stretch out into a circle.  You can go around several times, just try to avoid tearing the dough.  Placing the now stretched dough back onto your work surface, continue to press the dough into the shape and thickness you want.  You can use a rolling pin, but make sure it is very well floured.  Aim for even thickness throughout the center of the pie, leaving the crust thicker if you want.  Once you have shaped the dough, proceed to toppings!