A modified Italian receipt for pizza dough
As an Italian citizen and consequently a lifelong passionate of pizza, I found myself many times in wanting a pizza but without the time to do a proper dough and wait at least 8/10 hours to let it sit. Therefore, after having renounced few times, I decided to search for a fast an easy solution. The solution came to mind after having tried the cinnamon rolls receipt: instead of using beer yeast, I could use instant yeast. Surprisingly, it worked and you can find the receipt hereafter:
Ingredients:
For one thick pizza (normal oven baking tray size) or two thin (same size)
- 500 gr wheat flour
- 250 ml water (lukewarm)
- 1 tablespoon of extra-vergine olive Oil
- 10 gr salt
- 1 package of instant yeast
- 1 can of tomato sauce for pizza
- 1 mozzarella (250 gr)
- toppings (e.g. olives, tuna, onions, etc.)
The process:
- Start by putting lukewarm water in a glass and add the instant yeast. Let it sit for a couple of minutes so that the yeast activates.
- Meantime you can mix the flour and the salt in a bowl.
- After having thoroughly mixed them, form a hole in the flour and add water with yeast and oil.
- Mix (preferably with hands) until the dough is not sticky anymore. If necessary add flour. Image 1
- Let it sit for at least 2/3 hours at room temperature.
- After letting it sit, place a baking paper in the baking tray and roll the dough on it.
- Put tomato sauce, mozzarella and whichever topping you prefer (a bit of Oregano will make it taste even better!)
- Bake it at 250° Celsius degrees for 6/7 minutes.
Variants for topping:
- This dough can be used to make focaccia - the so called white pizza. You can avoid to put tomatoes.
Tips:
- If you don’t get to finish the pizza, you can store it in the freezer for 2 months.
- If you want to make your own tomato sauce, please take a can of tomatoes (either the pulp or in pieces), add a pinch of sugar, salt and possibly fresh herbs if available (e.g. Oregano works wonderfully together with Basilicum). Blend everything together and feel free to add other spices as you please.
- If you want to have a crispy crust on the bottom, spread some oil in the tray instead of using baking paper.
Gallery
(tap on the pictures to open full screen)Image 1: Pizza dough before doubling in size
Image 2 White pizza with oregano, sausages’ cubes and mozzarella
Image 3 Pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basilicum
Image 4 Double flavour pizza
Image 5 Slice of pizza
Image 6 White and Red pizzas