Mar 14, 2007

Master Pizza Dough

Credit: Claudio Vitale

MAKES 2 12" PIZZAS

We developed this recipe by watching a real Neapolitan pizzaiuoli (pizza maker) at work in a New York pizzeria.

1 7-gram packet active dry yeast
1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄2 cup cornmeal

1. Dissolve yeast in 1⁄4 cup lukewarm water in a large bowl. Set aside until yeast begins to activate (it will foam a little), about 10 minutes. Combine flours and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Add 1 cup of the flour mixture to yeast and stir well with a wooden spoon or your hands. Mix in 1⁄2 cup water, then add another cup flour mixture and continue to stir. Add remaining 1 cup flour mixture, then gradually stir in about 1⁄4 cup water and mix well. The dough should be fairly soft, but not too wet.

3. Turn out dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead with the heels of your palms until it has a smooth, uniform texture, about 10–12 minutes. Divide dough into 2 even balls. Coat the insides of two medium bowls with 1⁄2 tsp. olive oil each. Place dough in bowls, cover bowls with damp cloths or plastic wrap, and set aside to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 1⁄2–3 hours.

4. Place pizza stone or unglazed tile in oven and preheat at highest setting (not broil). Sprinkle a baker's peel or inverted baking sheet with cornmeal. Punch down dough from one bowl, make a ball, and flatten it on the pan. Taking care not to overwork dough, stretch it into a thin 12" circle with a slightly raised edge. Add Margherita or Marinara toppings and slide onto hot pizza stone.

5. Bake until crust is golden brown and crisp, about 12–15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare second pizza. Remove first pizza from oven and bake the second on the same stone. Drizzle a little olive oil on each and serve.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #7

Subscribe now

Ratings & Reviews (12)

by coastsidewilly on 2008-06-26

you will find that using corn meal to dust the oven stone and peel at the "highest temperature" will result in burned corn meal. better to use semolina instead which will not burn.

by coastsidewilly on 2008-06-26

you will find that using corn meal to dust the oven stone and peel at the "highest temperature" will result in burned corn meal. better to use semolina instead which will not burn.

by marji on 2008-06-26

i don't think a comment about cornmeal vs semolina really constitutes a review about the dough itself.

by Robert Turner on 2008-06-26

even with modern packaging you sometimes get a bad packet of yeast. so if it doesn't foam up and get bubbly and active in the first step, throw it out and start over instead of wasting your flour and other ingredients.

by prunella on 2008-06-26

why use cake flour? everything i have read says it is ill-suited for bread. isn't pizza dough a bread because it uses yeast as its rising agent? thanks.

by ciaolele on 2008-06-27

so this is supposed to be fool proof..i am a cook and although it looked like a magazine cover, it was too hard and not delicate, although it was thin, so what did i do wrong? also, none of the above so called "reviews"

are, did anyone actually make this dough or what?

by prunella on 2008-07-01

i had the same result. the dough handled beautifully, but was almost cracker-like. not the nyc pizza that you can fold in half lengthwise. i am still suspect of the cake flour--which contains leavening -- and its combination with yeast --

by chefrusso on 2008-07-14

cake flour has no leavening agents in it, that would be self-rising. it has a very low amount of gluten. the cake flour is used in this recipe to soften the dough and make it more cracker-like. if your dough was too hard, you may have over-kneaded it or it may be too dry. try to use a little less flour next time.

by chefrusso on 2008-07-14

making pizza (or bread) dough can be very difficult at first, and takes practice to get the consistency of the dough just right. humidity plays a very important role in the final product and the amount of flour used must be adjusted accordingly. (high humidity=more flour; low humidity=less flour)

by middlegirl on 2008-08-11

you can soften any pizza dough by adding a small amount of olive oil to the yeast/water mixture before incorporating the flour. this will result in pizza with great "fold" capabilities...just like we used to have in new jersey!

by RG on 2012-04-08

Made as written but used the food processor to knead the dough. The crust was crisp on the outside, soft inside, and could be folded. I thought it was more a NY-style than Napoli-style crust. Good char, bubbled beautifully, nice taste and a little chewy, but a bit too thick and chewy to really be Italian. I wonder if previous reviewers have under-kneaded the dough or used the wrong flour blends? I think the mix is meant to mimic Italian flours, which can be high protein but very finely ground. I always bake with White Lily Unbleached bread flour, which is a much finer grind than most AP flours, but I added 2 tblsp of cornstarch to the blend to be safe.

by GERTIRHODES on 2012-10-29

There are a lot of variables here that are not included in the recipe nor the procedure. One important thing is to add the flour to the water gradually. This way you can feel when the dough gets to the correct consistency. This helps you to adjust for changes in humidity, etc. Cooking time also plays a critical role. If your crust is too crispy, then you may want to cut back on your cooking time. The cheese should be just barely melted. A previous post suggested that making dough takes a lot of practice. It is not as simple as dumping the ingredients into a mixer and pushing start.

Master Pizza Dough 4 5 6 12