Giada's Famous Pizza Dough (2024)

FAQs

What is the most important ingredient in pizza dough? ›

Flour is the main ingredient in pizza dough, and the type you use can have a big effect on the end result. All-purpose flour will work fine, but if you want a chewier crumb and a better hole structure, you should consider buying yourself some high protein bread flour.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let the dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Bread flour is higher in protein than all-purpose, at around 11 to 13%. Higher protein content means higher gluten content, as we now know, so using bread flour in your pizza dough will result in a stretchy dough that's less likely to tear.

The best flour for making Deep-Dish Pizza Dough is all-purpose flour. In bakeries and pizzerias, Pizza Flour is often used because it is a high-protein flour that produces a light and airy crust. However, all-purpose flour will also work well for Deep-Dish Pizza Dough.

The secret to great dough isn't kneading or throwing . . .

It's good old-fashioned H20. “Water, water, water,” says Falco. “Pizza dough made at home should be 50 percent water. Pizza needs to cook longer in a home oven, which means the dough needs to be more hydrated.”

New York pizza dough, on the other hand, is generally made from American bread flour. Also high in protein, it readily develops gluten (the protein matrix that gives bread structure).

No matter the form it's in, any yeast can work well for making pizza dough. It all depends on how much time you want to spend making it, and what kind of flavor you want. For example, sourdough starter will produce a much different-tasking crust than other yeast types.

When mixing your pizza dough, the flour and water create a chemical reaction that results in a build-up of gluten. Gluten is what helps create a stretchy texture, allowing the dough to stretch without breaking. Though it's important to knead your dough thoroughly, it's not necessary to knead your dough for long.

Caputo "00" Bread Flour

This is the gold standard of pizza flours by which most others are judged, but there's quite a bit of confusion as to exactly what it is. You'll read in countless sources that Italian Tipo "00" flour, like the Caputo, is a "soft wheat flour," with a low protein content.

Don't let it rise for too long, though.

“A few days' rise is fine and will enhance the taste of the crust, but any more than three days and the yeast will start to eat up all the sugar in the dough and convert it into alcohol, which will adversely affect crust flavor,” Schwartz said.

Why is water vital to a pizza dough recipe? ›

The idea is simple: minerals dissolved in water (mostly magnesium and calcium) can help proteins in the flour bond together more tightly, forming a stronger gluten structure, the network of interconnected proteins that give dough its strength and elasticity.

Yeast: The Essential Component

Yeast is a critical ingredient in pizza dough. It is a living organism that ferments sugar and releases carbon dioxide gas, making the dough rise. The yeast's activity creates a light, airy texture and adds flavor to the dough.

Our Totally Expert Analysis of Your Top Toppings

Pepperoni, of course. Slightly more than two-thirds (68%) of people said they loved pepperoni on their pizza. That's compared with a score of 47% for sausage. Meats like ham, Canadian bacon, and Italian beef all came in at 20% or less.

Oil brushed – Brushing the dough with garlic butter is a popular and easy starting point that has improved the taste of many pizza crusts. You may also consider a spice-infused oil drizzled over the finished pie.

Everything in a good bite of pizza should be balanced. The sauce shouldn't overpower the cheese and vice versa, the crust-to-sauce ratio should be even, and the choice of toppings should work fine together. It's not very often for someone to refuse a good slice of pizza, especially if it fits the general criteria.