Classic Pizza Dough

Flour, salt, water and yeast – what do these simple ingredients have in common? They come together to create the perfect foundation for any good Italian pizza - perfect pizza dough recipe!

Ingredients

Makes 3x 330g dough balls or  4x 250g dough balls

1¼ cups (300ml) cold water
2 tsp (10g) salt
7g fresh yeast (if unavailable, use ½ tsp (3g) active dried yeast or ⅓ tsp (2g) instant dried yeast) *

amend yeast quantities depending on proving time. 
4 cups (500g) “00” flour, plus extra for dusting 

Note:

It’s also possible to cold-prove your pizza dough, a technique that allows the yeast to work on the sugars in the flour for longer, thus helping the dough to develop a deeper flavour. 

Method
Place two-thirds of the water in a large bowl. In a saucepan or microwave, bring the other third of water to boil, then add it to the cold water in the bowl. This creates the correct temperature for activating yeast. Whisk the salt and yeast into the warm water.

If mixing by hand:
Place the flour in a large bowl and pour the yeast mixture into it. Stir with a wooden spoon until a dough starts to form. Continue mixing by hand until the pizza dough comes together in a ball. Turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead with both hands for about 10 minutes, until it is firm and stretchy. Return the dough to the bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.

If using a mixer:
Fit the mixer with the dough hook and place the flour in the mixer bowl. Turn the machine on at a low speed and gradually add the yeast mixture to the flour. Once combined, leave the dough to keep mixing to at the same speed for 5-10 minutes, or until the dough is firm and stretchy. Cover the dough with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.

When the dough has roughly doubled in size, divide it into 3x330 or 4x250 equal pieces, depending on what size you want your pizzas to be (either 16 inches or 12 inches wide). Place each piece of dough in a separate bowl or tray, cover with cling film and leave to rise for another 20 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Kneading and stretching the dough:
Our top tip is always to start with a perfectly rounded ball of pizza dough as this helps to keep the shape of the pizza base circular during the stretching process. Place the ball on a lightly floured surface, flour your hands and use your fingertips to press the dough into a small, flat disc. Working from the center, push the dough outwards while spreading  your fingers, making the disc slightly bigger. Pick up the pizza dough and gently pinch it all around the edge, allowing gravity to pull it downwards into a circle. Neapolitan-style pizza bases are very thin, so you should be able to see through the base when you hold it up to the light. Take care when doing this – you don’t want it to tear.

Once the pizza dough is fully stretched, lightly flour your pizza peel and lay the base on it. If at this point you see any small holes in the dough, gently pinch them back together. Once you’re happy with the base, add your toppings and bake in your Ooni pizza oven as indicated in your chosen recipe.

Watch a video on how to make Neapolitan-style pizza dough recipe:

Neapolitan Style Pizza

This how-to guide takes you through everything you need to know, from making Neapolitan-style pizza dough, hand-stretching and toppings...