Ingredients
- 500 g 'farina 00' (or all-purpose, or a mix of the two)
- 300 ml water, at room temperature
- 2 g active dry yeast (or 5 g fresh "baker's" yeast)
- a pinch of sugar, optional
- 10 g fine sea salt
- 35 g extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add some of the water, the fresh or dry yeast, and a pinch of sugar if using. Stir, and let dissolve, about 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of a food processor or stand mixer, add the flour, the water/yeast mixture and start mixing on low. In the case of a food processor pulse the ingredients. Add the salt, then slowly add the rest of the water, and keep mixing, or pulsing. Lastly, slowly, (we say "a filo") add the oil and mix, or pulse, until the dough starts to form (or it starts to pull away from the sides of the food processor or stand mixer bowl).
- Put the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it for a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Form it into a ball, cover with a bowl placed upside down, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Once rested, give the dough a small fold: stretch the ends to form a rectangle and fold into the center, turn it 90 degrees and do the same. Then, form it back into a ball. Transfer the ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with cling wrap. (oil the plastic wrap or the top of the pizza dough so the plastic won't stick to the dough when it rises).
- Transfer the bowl to a warm place (I choose the oven turned off with the light on) and let it rest for a 3 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Then, divide into 3 even pieces for a thin crust pizza (I use a scale to divide it. Each piece should be about 270-280 grams). Take each piece and shape it again into a ball using your hands. At this point, you can freeze one or two. Simply wrap the ball in plastic wrap and place into a ziplock bag and into the freezer.
- The ball/balls you are going to use, need to rise once more before being used. Cover them with plastic wrap or a towel so they do not dry out. When ready, you can stretch the dough and make your favorite pizza. In the meantime, turn your oven on, it has to be super hot.
- We often stretch it right in the pizza pan. Lightly oil a pizza pan, then place the dough on and spread it with your fingertips from the center outward until it reaches the desired width. You can stretch it as thin or thick as you want (we like ours pretty thin).
- You can also stretch it on a fair amount of semolina flour and place onto a pizza paddle before dressing with your toppings. Don't forget to add abundant cornmeal or semolina flour on the pizza paddle or it will stick and won't slide onto the pizza stone.
Notes
I like to use Italian farina ‘00’ flour, which is a finer flour and it will give your dough a smooth texture. Look for it in Italian stores and supermarkets. You could mix all-purpose and 00, or add in some semolina flour, if you like.
You can freeze the dough balls. Simply wrap each ball in plastic wrap and place into a ziplock bag and into the freezer. When you want to use a frozen dough, take it out of the freezer, unwrap, and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and also place a tea towel on top, then place into the oven with only the oven light on. Usually we take the frozen dough out in the morning and by evening it is proofed and ready to stretch.
- Prep Time: 4 hours
- Category: Pizza
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: pizza, homemade, basic, yeast, dough, flour, salt, oil, italian, pizza night
