Here is my favorite pizza dough recipe for wood-fired ovens! The best part? You can mix by hand, stand mixer or even (my preferred method) with a food processor!
Pizza dough
• 1 kg (8 cups plus 6 tbsp) high protein all-purpose flour
• 4 g (1 teaspoon) instant dry yeast
• 670 g (3 cups plus 2 tablespoons) cold water
• 15 g (2 tablespoons) salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil for oiling bowl and dough balls
Makes 8 pizzas
Hand or stand mixer method:
Stir together flour and yeast until well combined. Stir in water and mix until a rough dough ball forms and no dry flour remains. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle salt over the top of dough and knead by hand until dough is soft, smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes. If using a stand mixer, mix for 7-10 minutes with the dough hook. Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil, wiping out excess with a paper towel. When the dough is ready, transfer to greased bowl, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until puffy and not quite doubled in volume, 60 to 120 minutes (depending on the ambient temperature).
Transfer dough to a lightly floured countertop and divide into eight pieces of about 225 g (8 ounces) each. Form each portion into a smooth, round ball. Coat exterior of dough ball lightly with oil and place each on a lightly-oiled tray, spaced at least 2 inches apart. Cover the tray loosely but completely. Refrigerate dough for at least 24 hours or up to 4 days (48 to 72 hours is ideal).
Take out of refrigerator 1 – 2 hours before cooking.
Food processor method (recipe adapted from SeriousEats):
Pour flour and yeast in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 3 to 4 times until well mixed. With the machine running, slowly pour in water and continue to process until mixture forms rough ball and no dry flour remains, about 10 to 20 seconds. Turn off the mixer and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle salt over the top of dough and process until a mostly smooth ball forms, about 20 to 30 seconds. Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil, wiping out excess with a paper towel. Carefully remove dough ball from food processor and knead once or twice by hand until smooth ball is formed. Transfer to greased bowl, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let dough sit for 45 minutes.
Using lightly-moistened hands, knead dough in bowl until uniform in texture, 5 to 10 seconds. Cover and let sit at room temperature until puffy and not quite doubled in volume, 60 to 120 minutes (depending on the ambient temperature).
Transfer dough to a lightly floured countertop and divide into eight pieces of about 225 g (8 ounces) each. Form each portion into a smooth, round ball. Coat exterior of dough ball lightly with oil and place each on a lightly-oiled tray, spaced at least 2 inches apart. Cover the tray loosely but completely. Refrigerate dough for at least 24 hours or up to 4 days (48 to 72 hours is ideal).
Take out of refrigerator 1 – 2 hours before cooking.
Photo by Kajetan Sumila on Unsplash
