Buzz
Once you try making pizza dough at home, you'll notice a clear difference between homemade dough and the kind you buy at the store. You'll also discover that kneading the dough is an easy process.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (165 ml) warm water (approximately 38°C)
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) yeast
- 1/2 tablespoon (7.5 ml) salt
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
- 2 cups + 1 teaspoon (250 g) flour
Steps
Pour warm water into a bowl. Add the yeast and sugar. Stir gently and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast activates, forming bubbles on the surface of the water. Then, add the salt and oil.
Slowly add the flour while continuously stirring the mixture. You'll know you've added enough flour when the mixture thickens to the point where it can no longer be stirred.
Knead the dough. The dough is ready to knead when it is smooth and slightly sticky (but not too sticky); a small piece of dough should stretch thin enough to let light pass through.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a clean surface dusted with flour. A dry cutting board or clean countertop works best. Ensure the surface height is comfortable for kneading. If the surface is too wet or sticky, you can sprinkle more flour on top.
- Shape the dough into a ball and start pressing. Press the palms of your hands firmly into the dough and slightly push forward.
- Fold the far edge of the dough towards you and press it into the center. While pressing, gently roll the dough. Repeat the press-fold-roll process throughout the kneading process.
Let the dough rise for up to 1 hour at room temperature or 5 hours in the refrigerator.
Place the dough ball on a floured countertop, then sprinkle some more flour on top of the dough.
Divide the dough into two round portions, then repeat the following steps for each dough ball.
- Press down one dough ball with your hands to flatten it to a thickness of about 2-4 cm.
Hold the flattened dough and pinch the edges inward by about 1.3 cm. Try to stretch the dough while pinching and repeat the process around the edges of the dough piece.
Once the dough has stretched enough and starts to sag, you can begin tossing the dough.
- One hand grips the dough, rolling it over your fist.
- The other hand also grips tightly, sliding underneath the dough beside the first fist.
- Carefully move both hands apart to stretch the dough.
- Twist your hands (turning to the left and immediately towards your face) so the dough spins while stretching.
- When the dough reaches a diameter of about 20 cm, quickly move the left fist in a sweeping arc back towards your face while spinning the right fist away from your face. If you push the right fist slightly upwards, the dough will spin like a Frisbee. Practice balancing the spinning force of both hands. This will help prevent the dough from clumping at the corners (or worse).
- Make sure to catch the spinning dough gently with both hands to avoid tearing it. If the dough tears, just restart the process and spin the dough again.
Tips
- Dust your hands with flour to prevent the dough from sticking.
- When stretching the dough, try not to tear it, but only to stretch it.
- If the dough is too thick, you may need to use a rolling pin to flatten it.
- Use a food processor with a dough hook to knead the dough more quickly and efficiently.
- Tie back long hair to prevent it from getting caught in the dough.
- Don't add too much water to the dough. If you accidentally add too much, the dough will become too sticky.
- Always dust the surface with flour when kneading the dough, or it will stick.
- Wash your hands before kneading the dough.
- After kneading, let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.
- Don't let the dough rest for too long, as it will harden.
Warning
- Don't use too much flour, or the dough will become too dry.
- Don't stretch it too much, or the dough will become too thin and won't bake properly.
What You Will Need
- A large bowl
- Plastic wrap
- Dough hook (if using a food processor)
