Celebrity chefs offer their recipes for pizza dough.
Tyler Florence’s Pizza Dough
From Eat This Book: Cooking with Global Fresh Flavors (Clarkson Potter, 2005)
Makes one 14- to 15-inch pizza
Fresh pizza dough is very easy to make. You can bake it on a pizza stone, if you have one, to make thin, crisp-crusted pizza. Or just press the dough into a sheet pan, drizzle it with olive oil, and sprinkle with fresh rosemary to make focaccia.
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup warm (100 to 110 degrees) water
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, or in a mixing bowl, combine yeast, sugar and warm water. Stir gently to dissolve yeast and sugar. Let mixture rest until yeast comes alive and starts to foam, 5 to 10 minutes.
If you’re using a mixer, turn mixer on low and add salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. - Add flour, a little at a time, mixing at lowest speed until all flour has been incorporated. When dough starts to adhere, increase speed to medium and continue mixing until dough gathers into a ball (about 5 minutes). Stop machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough as you’re making by squeezing a small amount together between your thumb and fingers. If it’s crumbly, add more water; if it’s sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times, kneading until it’s smooth and elastic. Alternate method: If you’re making the dough by hand, stir in salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then begin stirring in flour.
- When mixture becomes too stiff to stir with a spoon, knead in the rest of the flour by hand, adding just enough so that dough is soft but not sticky. As you work, squeeze a small amount of dough together between your thumb and fingers. If it’s crumbly, add more water; if it’s sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
- Form dough into a round and put it into a lightly oiled bowl, turning it over to coat the dough entirely with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e., over a gas pilot light) until doubled in size, about an hour.
Continue with recipe for Grilled Pizza with Mozzarella di Bufala and Sausage.
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