Mark Bittman's Basic Pizza Dough
- Total Time
- 2 to 3 hours mostly unattended, or less in a pinch
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 3cups all-purpose or bread flour, or more as needed, plus more for kneading
- 2teaspoons instant yeast
- 2teaspoons salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 2tablespoons olive oil, plus more as necessary
- Rosemary, optional.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Put the 3 cups flour, yeast, 2 teaspoons salt and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a food processor. Turn the machine on and add 1 cup water through the feed tube. Process until the mixture forms a slightly sticky ball, about 30 seconds. If the mixture is too dry, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time and process for 5 to 10 seconds after each addition. If the mixture refuses to come together, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time and process until it does.
- Step 2
Rub a little olive oil or sprinkle a little flour onto your hands and shape the dough into a ball; wrap in plastic. Let rest at room temperature until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. Or, if time is tight, let it rest at least 20 minutes before proceeding. Or refrigerate for several hours, deflating if necessary if it threatens to burst the plastic. (Or divide in half, wrap each ball in plastic, slip into a plastic bag and freeze.) Let it return to room temperature before proceeding.
- Step 3
Reshape the dough into a ball and cut in half, forming 2 balls. (From here on, use olive oil if you're cooking on baking sheets, flour if on a pizza stone.) Put them on a lightly floured surface (a pizza peel is ideal), sprinkle with flour and cover with plastic wrap; or brush then with a bit of oil and place on a lightly oiled sheet. Let rest for about 20 minutes, while you heat the oven to 500 degrees.
- Step 4
Press a dough ball into a ½-inch-thick flat round, adding flour or oil to the work surface as necessary. Press or roll the dough until it's as thin as you can make it; let it rest a bit if it becomes too elastic. (Patience is your friend here.) You can do two baking sheets at once, or one after another, as you'll have to if using a peel. If doing the latter, slide the dough from the peel onto the stone.
- Step 5
Sprinkle the pizzas with olive oil (just a little), salt and rosemary. Bake for at least 10 minutes, perhaps rotating once, until the crust is crisp. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
Private Notes
Comments
If you're looking for the perfect crispy crust, I suggest cooking the dough by itself on a pizza stone for just a few minutes. This keeps the dough from soaking up the sauce and toppings, reducing any potential sogginess. Three to four minutes should do the trick. Use a peel to remove the dough, add sauce and toppings, and return it to the oven for another 8-9 minutes. You'll be pleased to find the crust will taste as if it were cooked in a wood fired oven.
"wrap ball in plastic" and wait till doubled in size? 1.How on Earth could that ball ever double if wrapped in plastic??? 2.What's wrong with an oiled bowl, covered with an oiled plate? 3. and why not replace food processor with bowl and wooden spoon?? 4. . . . and those stone tiles need much much less than an hour to heat up. Remember the Environment!
I like to lightly coat the bare, rolled dough with olive oil before adding toppings, as the oil barrier will resist the water in a tomato sauce, for instance, keeping the dough from becoming soggy.
Just a heads up when looking at weights versus cups in recipes where they don't specify brands, King Arthur bread flour says on the side that 1/4 cup flour equals 30 grams which is 120 grams per cup which is 360 grams. My KA AP flour is also 120 g a cup. So is Gold Medal bread and AP. Bobs Red Mill bread flour is 144 g per cup. KA sifts before they weigh. The bottom line is that depending on how Marc uses and measures his flour and the brand, it could affect the outcome. I am learning to be flexible when it comes to bread.
Amazing they no longer even include Bittman's advice for making this by hand. Also when did we start "wrapping the dough in plastic" ? The original recipe from "How to Cook Everything" says to grease a bowl with olive oil and place the dough in it, cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth" The original recipe, made by hand with no processor, subbing 1/2 cup corn meal for 1/2 cup flour has been my go-to for 20 years. Buy the book.
I have been making this recipe for 15 years. It’s easy and never fails. I make the dough in the morning and by late afternoon it’s ready to roll out
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