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The Anytime Pizza Dough

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5 from 1 review

This amazing pizza dough is perfect for an ambitious (but worth it!) weeknight dinner.

  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: 3 12" pizzas 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 375 ml (1.5 cups) water (110ยฐF to 115ยฐF)
  • 1.5 tbsp instant yeast
  • 1.5 tsp turbinado sugar (or 1 tsp of granulated sugar)
  • 1.5 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1.5 tsp garlic powder
  • 1.5 tsp onion powder
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 1.5 tbsp oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)
  • 1.5 tbsp honey or natural sugar
  • 512 g (4 cups) all-purpose flour (see note)

Instructions

  1. This pizza is best baked on a pizza stone.ย  If using a pizza stone, place it on the middle rack of your oven and move all of the oven racks to the bottom.ย  Heat oven to 425ยฐF (not convection).
  2. Combine Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt in a bowl.ย  Set aside.ย  Measure 4 cups (512 grams) of flour in a large bowl and set aside.ย  Put oil and honey in a small bowl and set aside.
  3. Add warm water to 2-cup measuring cup.ย  Add 1.5 tbsp yeast and 1.5 tsp tubinado sugar to warm water.ย  Mix with a small whisk until all yeast is moistened.ย  Allow yeast mixture to sit for 8-10 minutes.
  4. After yeast has bloomed, add yeast mixture, honey/oil mixture, flour, and spice mix to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. ย 
  5. If using a stand mixer, mix on low speed (in my KitchenAid, I never go higher than speed 2 for any bread dough) for about five minutes before adding additional flour.ย  Add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of flour maximum if the dough is extremely sticky.ย  Allow dough to mix for about a minute between each addition of flour.
  6. If using a large bowl, stir in the bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough becomes difficult to mix.ย  With your hands, knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together in a cohesive dough ball.ย  Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of flour on a clean work surface and continue kneading for 10-15 minutes.
  7. Perform the Windowpane Test after about 8-10 minutes of kneading.ย  The dough should be tacky but not sticky, and it should stretch easily and become translucent without breaking.
  8. Spray your hands with a light coating of non-stick cooking spray.ย  Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and spray a light coating of non-stick spray in the mixing bowl.ย  Form the dough into a ball and place the dough back into the mixing bowl.ย  Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for 45-60 minutes. ย 
  9. Use a kitchen scale to separate the dough into three separate dough balls.ย  Sprinkle flour on a piece of parchment paper and place the three dough balls on the parchment.ย  Sprinkle the tops of the dough balls with flour and cover again with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.ย  Allow the dough to rise for 30 more minutes.
  10. Sprinkle a piece of parchment paper with flour and shape your pizza as desired.ย  Remember to build your pizza directly on your parchment paper so that you can move it!ย  If you build it directly on a countertop it will get stuck like glue.
  11. This dough can be shaped any number of ways; the thickness of the crust impacts the bake time.ย  Bake time varies by crust thickness and number of toppings; for fewer toppings and/or a medium color crust, bake at 425ยฐF for 9-10 minutes.ย  For more toppings or a more well-done crust, bake 12-15 minutes.ย  If making a deep dish pizza, lower the temperature to 400ยฐF and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Notes

  • A digital kitchen scale is highly recommended for weighing the flour in this recipe.ย  Without proper measurement, the likelihood of an over-floured pizza dough is high.
  • An oven thermometer will help ensure that your oven is at the proper baking temperature for pizza.ย  If the oven is not hot enough, the crust will likely be underbaked.
  • An alternate way to build this pizza is directly on a pizza peel that is covered with corn meal.ย  If you’re new to pizza baking, I would recommend practicing your technique on parchment paper so that you can increase your confidence and speed before doing this advanced technique.
  • Bread flour is wonderful in this recipe, and will increase the chewiness of the pizza dough.
  • Author: Shani
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes (active)
  • Rise Time: 1 hour 15 minutes (total)
  • Cook Time: 6-9 minutes per pizza
  • Category: Bread