Italian Pizza Dough
One of the first things Stefano did after we moved to America and bought our house in Minneapolis was build an outdoor pizza oven.
That was about twenty years ago before the renaissance of Neapolitan pizza in America made finding authentic pizza a little easier. Truth be told, it’s still hard to find good Italian pizza in Minneapolis. Plus, we prefer the lighter and crispier Roman-style scrocchiarella pizza to the chewier, heavier renditions of Neapolitan pizza that we often find here. So, like so many of our staple foods, the best solution was to make it ourselves.
For nearly two decades, our pizza dough recipe and technique have been a work in progress. We’ve experimented with the ratio of water to flour, the amount and type of yeast, and the quantity of oil. We’ve played around with pinsa, a traditional Roman dough that blends soy and rice flour along with traditional wheat flour. After probably about a hundred batches of dough, we’ve settled on the recipe below as our favorite.
Italian pizza dough
One of the first things Stefano did after we moved to America and bought our house in Minneapolis was build a wood-burning pizza oven in our back yard. We’ve been perfecting our pizza dough recipe ever since.
Ingredients
- 2 grams of active dry yeast
- 12 grams of salt
- 500 grams of 00 flour
- 375 grams of water, lukewarm
- Olive oil
- Semolina flour for dusting
Instructions
- Add the yeast to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the water to the bowl and let it sit until the yeast dissolves, stirring occasionally.
- Add the double-zero flour and the salt.
- Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon until the flour is incorporated. The dough will be shaggy.
- Coat a new bowl with olive oil and transfer the dough to it.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
- Stretch and fold the dough in half four times.
- Return the dough to the oiled container and let it rest overnight in the refrigerator or another cool location.
- When 12 hours have passed, turn the dough out onto a floured surface, fold it a few times, and then cut the dough into pieces weighing about 300 grams.
- Use your hands to shape each piece of dough into a ball, gently stretching and wrapping the dough into a seam on the underside.
- Place each ball of dough into a pizza-proofing box or other container, cover, and allow the dough to rise for about two more hours at room temperature until the balls have doubled in size.
- When you are ready to make pizzas, place each ball of dough on a generously floured surface.
- Use your fingers to stretch and shape the dough into a large circle.
- Transfer the dough to a wooden pizza peel that is generously dusted with semolina.
- Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the pizza and use a pastry brush to spread it over the surface of the dough.
- Top our pizza with your favorite ingredients.
- Transfer the pizza to a square pizza peel and place it into the pizza oven, which should be 500° or hotter.
- Use a round peel to turn the pizza as needed to cook uniformly.
- When the pizza is ready, use the round peel to remove it from the oven and transfer it to a pizza pan.
Notes
We use Antimo Caputo 00 Chef's flour and Antimo Caputo Semolina, both of which can be found at many grocery stores or online.
Many of our favorite pizzas don't call for tomato sauce, but when they do, we use plain San Marzano tomatoes passed through a food mill or blended. There is no need to cook the tomatoes or make a sauce. Simpler is better.
Our Favorite Roman-Style Pizzas
Below are a few of our favorite Roman-style pizzas. Notably, only one of them has tomato sauce. On the rest of them, the toppings are just added directly to the pizza dough after it’s been brushed with olive oil. Sprinkle salt on top of the pizza before cooking it, adjusting as needed according to the saltiness of the toppings.
Pizza Margherita
Named after Queen Margherita of Savoy, the wife of King Umberto I of Italy, la Margherita is a classic. It’s always the first one we make when we do pizzas—a warm-up pizza, so to speak. There are just three ingredients: San Marzano tomatoes which have been through a food mill, fresh mozzarella, and basil. A dash of salt for flavor. Spoon the pureed tomatoes over the crust, add mozzarella, and fire the pizza. We add the basil as soon as it comes out of the oven so that it doesn’t burn while cooking.
Pizza con i fiori di zucca
Pizza with zucchini flowers and anchovies is a quintessential Roman pizza. Prepare the blossoms in advance by removing the stems and pistils. Arrange the flowers over the pizza dough. Add pieces of anchovy (or omit if you are not a fan), and top with mozzarella. Salt lightly, especially if you use anchovies, as they are naturally salty.
Pizza con le patate
Potato pizza is another Roman-classic. Use a mandolin to cut a Yukon potato into paper thin slices. Arrange the slices of potato in a layer on top of the oiled crust. Salt and pepper generously. Fire the pizza for a minute or two in order to partially cook the potatoes. Add rosemary, a bit of finely diced garlic, and mozzarella, and return the pizza to the oven to finish cooking.
Pizza con funghi
Saute your favorite mushrooms in olive oil with a bit of garlic. Discard the garlic, but preserve the oil. Use the oil to brush the pizza dough. Add your mushrooms, top with mozzarella, and fire. Optional, add cooked Italian sausage along with the mushrooms.
Pizza con broccoli e salsiccia or cicoria e salciccia
Sautè broccoli rabe or cicoria (blanched dandelion greens) in olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Remove the casing of two or three Italian sausages and brown the meat. Add the broccoli or cicoria and the sausage to the pizza and top with mozzarella.
Pizza with prosciutto e arugula
Cook the pizza dough brushed with ample olive oil and sprinkled with salt. After you pull the pizza out of the oven, add slices of prosciutto crudo to the cooked crust and top with arugula.
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