“There is no situation, no facet of life, that cannot be improved with pizza” – Daria Morgendorfer
For me, pizza is the universal party food. There is something oddly satisfying about the quiet moment when everyone is simultaneously shoveling cheap pizza into their face. However, recently we attended a NYE party where the goal was to break in a new wood fired pizza oven – a beautifully designed cast-iron piece that weighed a ton. Of course, reheating Domino’s wasn’t gonna cut it.
The dough recipe here makes 2 large (30cm diameter) thin crust pizzas. It is important to adhere to the timings to allow the yeast to work its magic.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups plain flour
- 1 1/4 cups warm water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dried yeast
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
Method
- Put the yeast and sugar into the warm water and stir. The water will take on the colour of the yeast. Put this aside for 15 minutes. The yeast will activate and bubble (this is called a yeast starter). This is a good sign.
2. There are two ways to prepare your dough: Use a machine (stand mixer, food processor, bread maker), or by hand. Most machines will come with instructions for dough, so follow those if they apply to get all your ingredients into the mixer. If mixing by hand, measure out the flour and salt into a large bowl, mix slightly to combine, then add the yeast starter to the flour and mix together until the dough forms.
3. Knead/mix for at least 10 minutes. The dough should be a little sticky but shouldn’t stick to your hands or be wet. Add flour to remedy this if it is too sticky. Alternatively, if the dough is flaking and not sticking to itself, add a little warm water to fix.
4. Once kneaded, the dough should be slightly stretchy, and should not stick to your hands. A little sticky is fine. Move this to a lightly floured bowl and rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
5. Once dough is rested, it should have doubled in size. Punch it once – it should ‘deflate’. You can use it now or store it in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
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