CHAPTER 13
PIZZA DOUGHS
SAME-DAY STRAIGHT PIZZA DOUGH
OVERNIGHT STRAIGHT PIZZA DOUGH
OVERNIGHT PIZZA DOUGH WITH LEVAIN
OVERNIGHT PIZZA DOUGH WITH POOLISH
SAME-DAY STRAIGHT PIZZA DOUGH
This recipe is ideal if you want to make dough in the morning and bake pizza that evening. It’s even better if you refrigerate the dough balls overnight and make pizza the next day. What I often do with this recipe is make pizza two days in a row, or pizza one day, and the next day make focaccia, perhaps to serve alongside a meal, as a predinner snack, or for lunch.
Note that the dough doesn’t include olive oil, as pizza doughs often do. Therefore it bakes up crisper, with more open holes in the perimeter of the crust, which is how I like it. I do think drizzling olive oil on the dough after the pizza is baked is a great idea. The crust will showcase the flavor of the flour, so it’s best to use a good flour, preferably soft white 00 flour (see Pizza Dough Overview), Caputo brand if you can get it. If 00 flour isn’t available, use the best-quality all-purpose white flour you can obtain. The resulting flavors will be delicate, sweet wheat, and ideal for combining with high-quality tomatoes and toppings.
THIS RECIPE MAKES FIVE 340-GRAM DOUGH BALLS, each of which will yield a thin-crust pizza-stone pizza about 12 inches in diameter or a thick-crust iron-skillet pizza. If you use this dough for focaccia, for details on amounts of dough for different applications.
BULK FERMENTATION: About 6 hours
PROOF TIME: At least 1½ hours
SAMPLE SCHEDULE: Mix at 10 a.m., shape into dough balls at 4 p.m., and make pizza anytime after 6 p.m. or anytime over the next 2 days.
INGREDIENT QUANTITY   BAKER’S PERCENTAGE
White flour 1,000 g 7¾ cups 100%
Water 700 g, 90ºF to 95ºF (32ºC to 35ºC) 3 cups 70%
Fine sea salt 20 g 1 tbsp + ¾ tsp 2%
Instant dried yeast 2 g ½ tsp 0.2%
1a. Hydrate the yeast Measure 700 grams of water at 90°F to 95°F (32°C to 35°C) into a container. Put 2 grams (½ teaspoon) of yeast in a separate, small container. Add about 3 tablespoons of the 90°F to 95°F (32°C to 35°C) water to the yeast and set aside.
1b. Autolyse Combine the 1,000 grams of flour and the remaining 90°F to 95°F (32°C to 35°C) of water in a 12-quart round tub. Mix by hand just until incorporated. Cover and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Mix Sprinkle the 20 grams of salt over the top of the dough. Stir the yeast mixture with your finger, then pour it over the dough. Use a small piece of the autolysed mixture to wipe the remaining yeast goop from its container, then throw it back in the tub.
Mix by hand, wetting your working hand before mixing so the dough doesn’t stick to you. (It’s fine to rewet your hand three or four times while you mix.)
Reach underneath the dough and grab about one-quarter of it. Gently stretch this section of dough and fold it over the top to the other side of the dough. Repeat three more times with the remaining dough, until the salt and yeast are fully enclosed.
Use the pincer method alternating with folding the dough to fully integrate the ingredients. Cut and fold, cut and fold. The target dough temperature at end the of the mix is 77°F to 78°F (25°C to 26°C).
3. Fold This dough needs one fold (see Step 3: Fold the Dough for instructions). It’s best to apply the fold 30 to 60 minutes after mixing. After folding, lightly coat the dough and the bottom of the tub with olive oil to help prevent sticking.
When the dough is about double its original volume, about 6 hours after mixing, it’s ready to be divided.
4. Divide Moderately flour a work surface about 2 feet wide. With floured hands, gently ease the dough out of the tub. With your hands still floured, pick up the dough and ease it back down onto the work surface in a somewhat even shape. Dust the entire top of the dough with flour, then cut it into 5 equal-size pieces with a dough knife or plastic dough scraper. Each piece should weigh about 340 grams; you can eyeball it or use a scale. (If you plan to use any of the dough for thin-crust iron-skillet pizza or focaccia, divide that portion of the dough into 200-gram pieces.)
5. Shape the dough into balls Shape each piece of dough into a medium-tight round following these instructions, working gently and being careful not to degas the dough.
6. Refrigerate Put the dough balls on a lightly floured baking sheet, leaving space between them to allow for expansion. Lightly oil or flour the tops, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to make the dough easier to shape.
See chapter 14 for instructions for shaping, topping, and baking pizzas. Stored in the refrigerator and tightly covered, any leftover dough will keep for up to 2 days. You may prefer the next-day dough as it develops flavors with more time in the refrigerator.
OVERNIGHT STRAIGHT PIZZA DOUGH
This dough recipe has two advantages: First, the long fermentation allows the dough to develop great flavor. Second, its schedule works for people who have a day job. The timing works like this: mix the dough at 7 p.m.; then, the next morning, give yourself fifteen minutes to divide the dough, shape it into balls, and wrap and refrigerate them. You can use the dough that evening or anytime over the next two days to make pizza or focaccia, using any of the recipes in chapter 14. When you get home from work, all you’ll have to do is make a sauce and prepare your toppings as the oven and pizza stone are preheating. As with all of the pizza doughs in this book, use a high-quality all-purpose white flour, preferably 00 flour (see Pizza Dough Overview), ideally Caputo brand.
THIS RECIPE MAKES FIVE 340-GRAM DOUGH BALLS, each of which will yield a thin-crust pizza-stone pizza about 12 inches in diameter or a thick-crust iron-skillet pizza. If you use this dough for focaccia, for details on amounts of dough for different applications.
BULK FERMENTATION: About 12 hours
PROOF TIME: At least 6 hours
SAMPLE SCHEDULE: Mix at 7 p.m., shape into dough balls at 7 a.m. the next morning, and make pizza that evening or anytime over the next 2 days.
INGREDIENT QUANTITY BAKER’S PERCENTAGE
White flour 1,000 g 7¾ cups 100%
Water 700 g, 90ºF to 95ºF (32ºC to 35ºC) 3 cups 70%
Fine sea salt 20 g 1 tbsp + ¾ tsp 2%
Instant dried yeast 0.8 g Scant ¼ tsp 0.08%
1a. Hydrate the yeast Measure 700 grams of water at 90°F to 95°F (32°C to 35°C) into a container. Put 0.8 gram (a scant ¼ teaspoon) of yeast in a separate, small container. Add about 3 tablespoons of the measured 90°F to 95°F (32°C to 35°C) water to the yeast and set aside.
1b. Autolyse Combine the 1,000 grams of flour with the remaining 90°F to 95°F (32°C to 35°C) of water in a 12-quart round tub. Mix by hand just until incorporated. Cover and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Mix Sprinkle the 20 grams of salt over the top of the dough. Stir the yeast mixture with your finger, then pour it over the dough. Use a small piece of the autolysed mixture to wipe the remaining yeast goop from its container, then throw it back in the tub.
Mix by hand, wetting your working hand before mixing so the dough doesn’t stick to you. (It’s fine to rewet your hand three or four times while you mix.)
Reach underneath the dough and grab about one-quarter of it. Gently stretch this section of dough and fold it over the top to the other side of the dough. Repeat three more times with the remaining dough, until the salt and yeast are fully enclosed.
Use the pincer method alternating with folding the dough to fully integrate the ingredients. Cut and fold, cut and fold. The target dough temperature at end the of the mix is 77°F to 78°F (25°C to 26°C).
3. Fold This dough needs one or two folds (see Step 3: Fold the Dough for instructions). It’s best to apply the folds 30 to 60 minutes after mixing. After folding, lightly coat the dough and the bottom of the tub with olive oil to help prevent sticking.
When the dough is 2 to 3 times its original volume, about 12 hours after mixing, it’s ready to be divided.
4. Divide Moderately flour a work surface about 2 feet wide. With floured hands, gently ease the dough out of the tub. With your hands still floured, pick up the dough and ease it back down onto the work surface in a somewhat even shape. Dust the entire top of the dough with flour, then cut it into 5 equal-size pieces with a dough knife or plastic dough scraper. Each piece should weigh about 340 grams; you can eyeball it or use a scale. (If you plan to use any of the dough for thin-crust iron-skillet pizza or focaccia, divide that portion of the dough into pieces weighing about 200 grams.)
5. Shape the dough into balls Shape each piece of dough into a medium-tight round following these instructions, working gently and being careful not to degas the dough.
6. Refrigerate Put the dough balls on a lightly floured baking sheet, leaving space between them to allow for expansion. Lightly oil or flour the tops, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
See chapter 14 for instructions for shaping, topping, and baking pizzas. Stored in the refrigerator and tightly covered, any leftover dough will keep for up to 2 days. You may prefer the next-day dough as it develops flavors with more time in the refrigerator.
OVERNIGHT PIZZA DOUGH WITH LEVAIN
If you’ve built a levain culture, when you use it to make bread you’ll have enough left to make pizza dough too. This pure levain dough recipe, without added baker’s yeast, works on a convenient schedule and produces pizza crust with nice poofiness in the rim and a bit more acidity and complexity in taste from the leavening. I don’t mean to understate it, this is a great dough. As with all of the pizza doughs in this book, use a high-quality all-purpose white flour, preferably 00 flour (see Pizza Dough Overview), ideally Caputo brand.
THIS RECIPE MAKES FIVE 340-GRAM DOUGH BALLS, each of which will yield a thin-crust pizza-stone pizza about 12 inches in diameter or a thick-crust iron-skillet pizza. If you use this dough for focaccia, for details on amounts of dough for different applications.
BULK FERMENTATION: 12 to 14 hours
PROOF TIME: At least 6 hours
SAMPLE SCHEDULE: Feed the levain in the morning, mix the dough at 7 p.m., shape into dough balls at 7 a.m. the next morning, and make pizza after 1 p.m. or anytime over the next 2 days.
Levain
INGREDIENT QUANTITY  
Mature, active levain 50 g Scant ¼ cup
White flour 200 g 1½ cups + 1 tbsp
Whole wheat flour 50 g ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp
Water 200 g, 85ºF to 90ºF (29ºC to 32ºC) ⅞ cup
Final Dough Baker’s Formula
INGREDIENT FINAL DOUGH MIX QUANTITY   QUANTITY IN LEVAIN TOTAL RECIPE QUANTITY BAKER’S PERCENTAGE
White flour 900 g 6¾ cups 80 g 980 g 98%
Whole wheat flour 0 0 20 g 20 g 2%
Water 620 g, 90ºF to 95ºF (32ºC to 35ºC) 2¾ cups 80 g 700 g 70%
Fine sea salt 20 g 1 tbsp + ¾ tsp 0 20 g 2%
Levain 180 g* ½ cup + 2 tbsp     10%*

** In wintertime, you may need to use a little more levain, up to about 220 grams.

* The baker’s percentage for levain is the amount of flour in the levain expressed as a percentage of the total flour in the recipe.

1a. Feed the levain. About 24 hours after your previous feeding of the levain, discard all but 50 grams of levain, leaving the remainder in your 6-quart tub. Add the 200 grams of white flour, 50 grams of whole wheat flour, and 200 grams of water at 85°F to 90°F (29°C to 32°C) and mix by hand just until incorporated. Cover and let rest for 8 to 10 hours before mixing the final dough.
1b. Autolyse After 8 to 10 hours, combine the 900 grams of white flour with the 620 grams of 90°F to 95°F (32°C to 35°C) water in a 12-quart round tub. Mix by hand just until incorporated. Cover and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Mix the final dough Sprinkle the 20 grams of salt over the top of the dough.
Put a container with about a finger’s depth of warm water on your scale so you can easily remove the levain after it’s weighed. With a wet hand, transfer 180 grams (or more if your kitchen is cool; see “Seasonal Variations”) of levain into the container.
Transfer the weighed levain to the 12-quart dough tub, minimizing the amount of water transferred with it. Mix by hand, wetting your working hand before mixing so the dough doesn’t stick to you. Enclose the salt and levain by gently picking up the dough from underneath and stretching in three or four folds. Use the pincer method alternating with folding the dough to fully integrate the ingredients. Cut and fold, cut and fold. The target dough temperature at the end of the mix is 77°F to 78°F (25°C to 26°C).
3. Fold This dough needs one or two folds (see Step 3: Fold the Dough for instructions). Make the first fold 30 to 60 minutes after mixing. After the final fold, lightly coat the dough and the bottom of the tub with olive oil to help prevent sticking.
When the dough is 2 to 2½ times its original volume, 12 to 14 hours after mixing, it’s ready to be divided.
4. Divide Moderately flour a work surface about 2 feet wide. With floured hands, gently ease the dough out of the tub. With your hands still floured, pick up the dough and ease it back down onto the work surface in a somewhat even shape. Dust the entire top of the dough with flour, then cut it into 5 equal-size pieces with a dough knife or plastic dough scraper. Each piece should weigh about 340 grams; you can eyeball it or use a scale. (If you plan to use any of the dough for thin-crust iron-skillet pizza or focaccia, divide that portion of the dough into pieces weighing about 200 grams.)
5. Shape the dough into balls Shape each piece of dough into a medium-tight round following these instructions, working gently and being careful not to degas the dough.
6. Refrigerate Put the dough balls on a lightly floured baking sheet, leaving space between them to allow for expansion. Lightly oil or flour the tops, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours (if you want to make pizza sooner, let the dough balls you’ll be using sit out at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before shaping).
See chapter 14 for instructions for shaping, topping, and baking pizzas. Stored in the refrigerator and tightly covered, any leftover dough will keep for 2 or 3 days. You may prefer the next-day dough as it develops flavors with more time in the refrigerator.
OVERNIGHT PIZZA DOUGH WITH POOLISH
This dough has two things going for it: a particular flavor provided by the fermentation of the poolish; and a crisp, poofy-rimmed, delicate crust that has a light texture and open holes. The dough is leavened entirely with the poolish, which incorporates 50 percent of the total amount of flour in the dough.
This dough also has higher hydration than the other pizza dough recipes in the book, using 75 percent water relative to the weight of the flour. This produces a softer dough that requires two folds, preferably during the first hour of fermentation to give it more strength and tenacity. You need to take extra care when shaping pizzas from this soft dough. Although I’ve learned to toss and twirl this dough it does break and tear more easily, so the recommended shaping method for this dough is to use balled-up fists to stretch it into shape (without tossing it), as described in Setting Up Your Pizza Station.
Because the dough isn’t as strong, it’s also important not to load the pizzas down with too much weight from sauce or toppings. A pizza that breaks when you load it into the oven isn’t fun to deal with. Another option is to make this dough at a hydration closer to 70 percent. To do so, simply reduce the amount of water in the final dough mix by 40 or 50 grams.
You might think of this as an advanced recipe to try once you’re confident with the other pizza doughs in this book. A successful pizza made from this dough is well worth the effort, in taste and texture. It’s also a good example of how dough can be leavened solely with a poolish and no added yeast. I love the fact that just 0.4 gram of yeast—a scant ⅛ teaspoon—can leaven a batch of dough that makes five pizzas.
THIS RECIPE MAKES FIVE 350-GRAM DOUGH BALLS, each of which will yield a thin-crust pizza-stone pizza about 12 inches in diameter or a thick-crust iron-skillet pizza. If you use this dough for focaccia, for details on amounts of dough for different applications.
POOLISH FERMENTATION: 12 to 14 hours
BULK FERMENTATION: About 6 hours
PROOF TIME: At least 1½ hours
SAMPLE SCHEDULE: Mix the poolish at 8 p.m., mix the final dough at 10 a.m., shape into dough balls at 4 p.m., and make pizza that evening.
Poolish
INGREDIENT QUANTITY  
White flour 500 g 3¾ cups + 2 tbsp
Water 500 g, 80ºF (27ºC) 2¼ cups
Instant dried yeast 0.4 g Scant ⅛ tsp
Final Dough Baker’s Formula
INGREDIENT FINAL DOUGH MIX QUANTITY   QUANTITY IN POOLISH TOTAL RECIPE QUANTITY BAKER’S PERCENTAGE
White flour 500 g 3¾ cups + 2 tbsp 500 g 1,000 g 100%
Water 250 g, 105ºF (41ºC) 1⅛ cups 500 g 750 g 75%
Fine sea salt 20 g 1 tbsp + ¾ tsp 0 20 g 2%
Instant dried yeast 0 0 0.4 g 0.4 g 0.04%
Poolish 1,000 g All from recipe above     50%*

* The baker’s percentage for poolish is the amount of flour in the poolish expressed as a percentage of the total flour in the recipe.

1. Mix the poolish The evening before you plan to bake your pizza, mix 500 grams of flour and 0.4 gram (a scant ⅛ teaspoon) of yeast by hand in a 6-quart tub. Add 500 grams of water at 80°F (27°C) and mix by hand just until incorporated. Cover and leave out overnight at room temperature. The following timeline assumes overnight room temperature is between 65°F and 70°F (18°C and 21°C).
When fully mature 12 to 14 hours later, the poolish should be about tripled in volume (it comes just below the 2-quart line on my 6-quart Cambro tub), with bubbles popping on the surface at least every few seconds. Poolish will stay at this peak level of maturity for about 2 hours, unless your room temperature is warm—say, above 76°F (24°C)—in which case it will be at its peak for just about 1 hour. At this point you can mix the final dough.
2. Mix the final dough Measure 500 grams of flour into a 12-quart round tub, then add the 20 grams of salt and mix by hand.
Pour 250 grams of 105°F (41°C) water around the perimeter of the poolish, loosening it from its tub. Then pour the water and poolish into the flour mixture in the 12-quart tub.
Mix by hand, wetting your working hand before mixing so the dough doesn’t stick to you. (It’s fine to rewet your hand three or four times while you mix.) Use the pincer method alternating with folding the dough to fully integrate the ingredients. The target dough temperature at the end of the mix is 75°F (24°C).
3. Fold This dough needs two folds (see here for instructions). It’s best to apply the folds during the first hour after mixing the dough. After the second fold, lightly coat the dough and the bottom of the tub with olive oil to help prevent sticking.
When the dough is about 2½ times its original volume, about 6 hours after mixing, it’s ready to be divided.
4. Divide Moderately flour a work surface about 2 feet wide. With floured hands, gently ease the dough out of the tub. With your hands still floured, pick up the dough and ease it back down onto the work surface in a somewhat even shape. Dust the entire top of the dough with flour, then cut it into 5 equal-size pieces with a dough knife or plastic dough scraper. Each piece should weigh about 350 grams; you can eyeball it or use a scale. (If you plan to use any of the dough for thin-crust iron-skillet pizza or focaccia, divide that portion of the dough into 200-gram pieces.)
5. Shape the dough into balls Shape each piece of dough into a medium-tight round following these instructions, working gently and being careful not to degas the dough.
6. Refrigerate Put the dough balls on a lightly floured baking sheet, leaving space between them to allow for expansion. Lightly oil or flour the tops, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to make the dough easier to shape.
See chapter 14 for instructions for shaping, topping, and baking pizzas. Stored in the refrigerator and tightly covered, any leftover dough will keep for up to 2 days. You may prefer the next-day dough as it develops flavors with more time in the refrigerator.