This pizza dough is not only delicious, it’s also FAST—it needs only 30 minutes to rise—so from start to finish you’ll have hot pizza in less than an hour!
- ¡Ingrediente!
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus a bit more if needed)
- 1 packet instant yeast (2 1⁄4 tsp.)
- 1 1⁄2 tsp. sugar
- 3⁄4 tsp. salt
- 1⁄4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1⁄4 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp. olive oil (plus a bit more)
- 3⁄4 cup warm water (110° F.-ish; if it’s too warm it will kill the yeast.)
- Tools
- Stand mixer (not strictly necessary, but it helps)
Directions
Combine 1 cup of flour, yeast, sugar, salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning in a large bowl or your stand mixer bowl. Pizza’s crispier than bread or biscuits, so you don’t want to bloom your yeast for this recipe.
Add olive oil and warm water. Whether you’re using your mixer or not, stir with a wooden spoon to combine—there won’t be enough for the bread hook to mix yet.
Mix on medium speed or use the spoon to keep stirring. Gradually add the second cup of flour. Add a bit more water if it’s too dry or crumbly or flour if it’s too sticky. Keep stirring or mixing until the dough is forming into a cohesive, elastic ball and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
The dough should still be slightly sticky but still should be manageable with your hands. You’ll want to stir, mix, or knead it as little as possible: If you work the dough too much, you’ll overdevelop the gluten, and it will lose elasticity and tear or pull back when you’re ready to flatten it into a pizza.
Drizzle a separate large bowl generously with olive oil; use a pastry brush to brush up the sides of the bowl.
Lightly dust your hands with flour and form your pizza dough into a round ball—again, knead or mix it as little as possible—and transfer to your olive oil-brushed bowl. Roll the dough around in until it’s coated in olive oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place.
Allow dough to rise until doubled in size; about 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 425° F. I like to preheat the oven once the dough’s ready to rise, then put the bowl of dough on top of the stove so the oven gets it nice and warm to speed things up.
Once the dough has risen, don’t—repeat don’t—punch it down. Just transfer it to a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth (about 3 to 5 times max).
Work the dough into a 12-inch circle.
What’s that? HOW should you make a nice neat circle? Your choice: You can use a rolling pin if you want. Or you can flatten it with your palm and use your fingers to spread it out, turning it as you go. You can even try the traditional throwing it up in the air and spinning it. Whatever works best for you!
My only advice is to work the pizza right on the cookie sheet or pizza pan or whatever; in my experience, trying to move it from your counter to whatever you’re baking with will mangle it.
Pinch or roll the edges in a bit for your crust so your sauce and other ingredients won’t try to escape.
Brush the pizza, crust and all, with olive oil, then poke a bunch of holes in it with a fork so you don’t get big bubbles.
Add whatever toppings you want and pop it in the oven at 425° F. for about 13 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese and sauce are bubbling.