pizza dough
Light, crisp and chewy.
Servings 2 10-12” dough balls
Ingredients
- 355 grams very strong white bread flour (I like Allinson's brand)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon fast action dried yeast
- 230 ml water
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
In a breadmaker:
- To the breadmaker tin, add the very strong white bread flour, sea salt, caster sugar, fast action dried yeast and water. Place the tin in the breadmaker, choose the ‘knead’ setting and set the time for 4 minutes.
- After 4 minutes, add the extra virgin olive oil. Set the machine to ‘knead’ setting once again and set the timer for 15 minutes. When the machine beeps to let you know the dough is ready, wet your hands a little and pull the dough from the tin.
In a food mixer:
- To the food mixer bowl, add the very strong white bread flour, sea salt, caster sugar, fast action dried yeast and water. Knead on the slowest setting for 2 minutes until the dough just comes together.
- Slowly add the extra virgin olive oil and continue to mix, increasing the mixer speed gradually until the dough is kneading properly. Bring the mixer speed up to medium-high and knead for 5-6 minutes - as the mixer kneads the dough, it will appear sticky at first - persevere and with more machine mixing the dough will become smooth. Wet your hands a little and pull the dough from the mixer.
By hand:
- To a large bowl, add the very strong bread flour, sea salt, caster sugar, fast action dried yeast and water. Mix well with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. Knead by hand for 1 minute.
- Gradually add the extra virgin olive oil and continue kneading until the dough absorbs most of the oil. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough well for 10 minutes, adding just a little more flour as necessary.
Resting / Proofing
- Stretch the prepared dough and form a ball. Transfer the dough to a non-stick bowl. Cover with a clean, damp tea towel and set aside for 1 hour.
- Scrape the dough from the bowl, stretch and form a ball once again. Cover and set aside again for 2 hours, stretching once more during this time.
- Divide the dough into two equal pieces (each piece should weigh around 300g). Form a smooth pizza dough ball with each piece. Lightly oil each dough ball with a little olive oil and set aside in a dough proofing tray, or in a plastic food bag. Transfer to the fridge.
- Remove your pizza dough from the fridge 2-3 hours before stretching and baking.