This is my favorite and best pizza dough recipe I’ve come across. I’ve been using it for years, and it turns out great every time. Fun fact: it’s the first recipe in my recipe book, I think that says something! This dough can be easily scaled in half and freezes extremely well.
Recipe: Yields 4, 12″ round crusts
- warm water (80 degrees)- 2 cups
- yeast- 1&1/2 tsp.
- all purpose flour- 3&1/2 cups
- semolina flour- 2 cups
- salt- 2 tsp.
- olive oil- 2 tbsp.
- Tip: you can sub all purpose flour for semolina if you don’t have any on hand.
Directions:
- Set your oven to 400 degrees.
- Using a kitchenaid with the hook attachment, or in a large bowl using your hands, place the water and yeast in the bowl and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Add in the flour, salt and olive oil and mix until mixture forms together.
- Turn mixer on medium-high and let mix for about 8-10 minutes. If you are kneading by hand, knead dough on a floured surface for same amount of time. We’re aiming for nice gluten development so our dough is stretchy.
- Once the dough has good gluten development, let dough rest in a bowl covered with plastic wrap in a warm area until dough has doubled in size.
- Once dough has doubled in size, roll dough out onto a floured surface, cut the dough into quarters.
- Form each quarter into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and let rise again for about 20 minutes.
- On a floured surface, take one ball of dough and gently press it down with your hands, starting from the center working your way to the edges.
- Continue this process until dough starts to spread out about double the original size.
- Take the dough in your hands, and gently start pulling the center out towards the edges, keeping a lip on the edges for the crust. (I have a video up on my instagram under ‘dough work’ that you can watch to see the process).
- Continue to pull and rotate the dough until the dough stretches out enough to lay on the 12″ pan.
- Sprinkle flour onto the pan and place dough onto the pan. With your hands stretch the dough to fit the pan.
- With a fork, dock your dough over the entire surface. Tip: docking the dough allows air within the dough to release, causing no large air bubbles during the pre-baking.
- Pre-bake the crust for about 10-12 minutes. The crust should start to get slightly golden. Do not over bake the crust!
- Remove dough from the oven and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes before adding your toppings.
- Add your sauce and toppings and bake until edges are dark golden brown and cheese has melted, about 15 minutes.
- Let cool slightly, slice & enjoy!
Here are some pictures from start to finish of your dough.
There you have it! This recipe is very approachable in my opinion, and quite versatile! Try it out, and let me know what you think. I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I imagine some of you will fire up your grills this weekend, feel free to bake this crust on the grill after it’s been par-baked in the oven. Grilled pizza will surely wow your family! Cheers friends & happy baking!
A Taste Of Grace 
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