Long time readers will kind of laugh at the title of this blog post because every time I try a new pizza dough recipe, I declare it the best I’ve ever had! I really have no idea where my love affair with pizza came from, because we didn’t eat it all that often growing up. Maybe because it was such a treat and not a weekly thing that I always jumped for joy if it was take out pizza night. We all know Tony was not that big of a fan of pizza as I was. And truth be told, he wasn’t that much into food. I mean, he liked food and good food at that, but he wasn’t like me – if I finish breakfast I wonder what I am going to fix for lunch. When I finish lunch I wonder what I am going to fix for dinner. Rinse and repeat.
Meal planning with him was not fun. Let’s say I was meal planning for the week on Sunday, and mention maybe on Tuesday we’ll have pork chops. His routine response was “how do I know I am going to want pork chops on Tuesday?!” So then I would scratch pork chops off the menu, and invariably, later in the week he’d ask, “weren’t we going to have pork chops this week?”
But I digress. What actually sparked this new pizza dough recipe was that in one of the pasta classes we used semolina flour mixed with all-purpose flour to make the pasta dough. According to King Arthur Flour:
“This soft yellow flour has it all: Good looks, flavor, and multi-purpose functionality. Semolina – a coarse grind of high-protein durum wheat – gives nutty, sweet flavor and striking pale yellow color to breads, pizzas, and pasta. Substitute it for some (or all) of the all-purpose flour in your recipe. We love how versatile it is: Sprinkle it on a baking sheet in place of cornmeal to keep breads from sticking, or boil it in milk (like grits) for a warm breakfast porridge. A little maple syrup and cream won’t hurt, either.”
So I thought, what if I use some of that in my dough? Which got me thinking about 00 flour (or “double zero” flour):
“American flour is all about gluten: Ready for action, headed for the highest rise. Our version of Italian “00” flour is a little more laid back. Lower in protein and mellower, it yields the friendliest, gentlest dough to work with: supple, smooth, and easy to shape. The “00” refers to the grind of the flour (this flour is exceptionally fine-textured), and this style is one of our top-selling flours online. The resulting baked goods are light, airy, and have a crisp snap to the crust. It’s ideal for pizza, flatbreads, focaccia, and crackers. Try it in delicate pasta recipes like gnocchi and lasagna.”
So what if I combined all three to make my dough?! I had no problem finding both flours at my grocery store. It will be in much smaller packages than all-purpose flour, and I believe each one cost $2.99 a bag.
This dough was enough for Hannah and I each to have a personal 10 inch pizza, a calzone for Jacob, and enough dough for TWO MORE 10 inch pizzas. I first made this on Friday night and the dough rested all of about 20 minutes until my oven came to temp. It was good, but letting it rest in the fridge a couple days? Um, bingo!!
Here’s how my dough looked for my 10 inch pizza after it sat in the fridge for two days. You can see all the pockets of goodness where the yeast is doing it’s magic.
I made a quick pizza for myself to eat on my way to work on Sunday. It was deli sliced pepperoni, reduced fat Cabot cheese and a bit of grated Parmesan cheese.
Since I bake this on my baking steel, I just build and transfer my pizza with parchment paper. I bake my pizza at 425 and bake for about 10 minutes, then take it off the parchment paper and finish directly on the baking steel for 3-4 minutes.
So here’s the thing. This dough is the best of both worlds, crunchy and chewy! Check out this crust
But still chewy on the inside:
I want to just reach into that picture and take another bite!
I am going over to my friends house on Friday night and having party pizza Friday at her house – I am going to use this dough recipe for my deep dish pizza that I am going to bring along. I think I’ll sprinkle the bottom of the pan with some cornmeal to get that “Lou Malnati’s” feel. I’ll definitely let you know how that turns out.
Let me know if you make this! Tag me on Instagram if you do so I can see it.
Well, we made it to Wednesday – happy hump day – make it a great day!
I don’t have a baking steel or stone but I do have a cast iron griddle and skillet. Think I’d get a crispy crust on cast iron? Just found you on TikTok.
Hi! Yes, but preheat the skillet before you put the dough in the pan. I still build my pizzas on parchment paper, so it’s easy to get them in and out of the pan. Nice to meet you!
Hello Biz my family loves to make this “Best Pizza Dough” and recently when I came back to this page I noticed the recipe is gone. Whahappen?
It was useful to have a copy of it here to link other people to but the page seems to have changed
Hey! I need to fix that – sorry about that.
I have never purchased anything other than AP flour, whole wheat flour, and cake flour. However, I am like you in that I am always thinking about my next meal. Cooking breakfast and thinking about lunch! I will have to add this to my list of things to make from your blog! I’m still making your naan recipes on a regular basis!
It’s worth finding the other flours in my opinion Erin, let me know how it turns out. And now you reminded me that I haven’t made naan in a while – need to fix that! 😀
You make it look so easy! I bought dough from Trader Joe’s once and I couldn’t even work with that. It was a disaster. Oh Lou Malnati’s! I didn’t eat the pizza, but my husband and Carlos did and it looked and smelled amazing.
I hope to learn to do a video, because it really is so easy – making sure the yeast is fresh is key too. 😀
Have you been to New Orleans? You can dream of food all day there — and I have LOL!
It’s on my bucket list Lori! Tony always wanted to take me there 🙁
…I would like to order for delivery.
I would love to Roz, but you live too far away 😀 Happy Friday!
Mmmm, that looks goood!
My husband is our pizza chef, and he also uses a baking steel. To solve the problem of transferring the fully loaded pizza into the oven, he prebakes the bare crust for a minute or two until slightly firm, pulls it out, puts on the toppings and then puts it back in to finish baking.
I’ll have to see if I can find those flours, it would be fun to try a new crust recipe.
Also – Biz, what sauce do you use? We like Contadina’s pizza sauce but are interested in trying new ones.
That’s a great idea to prebake the dough – never thought of that! I made a quick pizza sauce using Red Gold diced tomatoes that has basil, italian seasoning and garlic. I just puree it (not a fan of huge chunks of tomatoes) and add more garlic and salt and pepper – that’s it 😀
Yum – I love a good yeasty pizza dough!
It’s so good 😀 But I think I say that about any kind of pizza!
It is funny because I did laugh when I saw the title of your post. Lucky for us you keep tinkering and trying new things because sometimes you stumble onto a true gem. Don’t mess with your deep dish too much because it is already pretty awesome.
I am trying the deep dish tonight – I’ll let you know how it turns out! 😀
I have a favorite pizza dough recipe but I’ll have to give this one a try as it looks like it would yield a different kind of crust than what mine does.
Happy Hump Day indeed!
Definitely give it a go. I pre-made a deep dish pizza last night to take to a friends house tonight so all I had to do was pop it in the oven – I’ll let you know how it turns out!