Pizza Dough Secrets Video: How to Make the Perfect Pizza Dough

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Learning how to make the perfect pizza dough can be frustrating. In this recipe video, I share my pizza dough secrets for making the best dough for a traditional Italian thin crust pizza. This is a simple, basic pizza dough recipe that does not include fat. There are many tricks to achieving a tasty, homemade pizza dough that rises into a beautiful pizza crust, such as making sure your ingredients are at right temperature, using half bread flour for a stronger dough and half all-purpose flour for a nice rise, substituting honey for sugar to help caramelize the crust and not including a fat like olive oil in the dough–just to name a few. This demonstration will also help you understand what happens when your dough is too hot or too cold or why it’s not rising, why you do not want to include a fat in your dough and more. Watch the video for all my pizza dough secrets and scroll down for the written pizza dough recipe.

You can choose your own toppings for this recipe, but one of our favorite pizzas for pairing with Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon is a simple pizza without red sauce, topped with Mt. Tam cheese, Maitake and Royal Trumpet mushrooms, Aleppo crushed red pepper flakes and a drizzle of Jordan Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Jordan Winery Pizza Dough Recipe

5/5
1

4 pizzas

2 hours

Ingredients

1½ cups warm water (about 90-100°F)

1½ tsp active dry yeast

1 tsp honey

2 cups unbleached bread flour or Tipo 00 flour

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1½ tsp kosher salt

Unbleached all-purpose flour, for dusting

Cornmeal, to prevent sticking

Your choice of toppings

Instructions

Yeast works best at temperatures between 70°F and 80°F. Before you begin, take the temperature of your flours and determine the temperature your water should be to get into this range.

Combine water, yeast and honey into the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Gently wisk to ensure the yeast begins to dissolve and does not remain at the bottom of the bowl. Add flours and mix on low speed for approximately 1 minute, until the ingredients mix together.

Remove bowl from mixer, cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for approximately 15 minutes. After the dough has rested, remove plastic wrap, place bowl back on the mixer and add the salt. Mix the dough and salt on medium speed for another 2-3 minutes. The dough should be one smooth mass and not shiny, lumpy or sticky.

Using a dough or bowl scraper, transfer the dough to a bowl that has been lightly coated with vegetable spray. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm area until doubled in size (approximately 30 minutes to an hour). Remove dough from bowl. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, divide the dough into four sections (approximately 6 ounces each). Shape each section into a ball. If freezing, lightly brush each dough ball with olive oil and place in a plastic freezer bag for up to a month. When ready to use, defrost in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours. If you’re in a hurry, defrost at room temperature for about 2 hours, but defrosting under the control temperature of a fridge is better. The dough can rest at room temperature for up to 3 hours before using.

Prepare a tray or pan with a thin layer of cornmeal to prevent sticking and place the dough balls on top. Allow enough room between the dough balls for each to double in size. Let rest for a minimum of 20 minutes before use. The dough can be reserved up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Preheat a gas grill to medium. Lightly brush grill with olive oil. (If using a wood-fired oven, let fire heat to 600-700 degrees.) Shape one dough ball into a thin disc using fingers, as demonstrated in our video. Dust pizza peel generously with cornmeal to prevent sticking and place disc on peel.

Slide dough on grill. Close the lid and grill until the bottom is firm, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the crust over; reduce heat slightly and add toppings of your choice. Close the lid and bake until crust is crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. (For wood-fired cooking, simply place pizza in oven for 2 to 3 minutes, turning frequently.)