All Purpose Flour Pizza Dough
Learn the method for making the most delicious Neapolitan pizza using all-purpose flour. After attending culinary school in Italy, I can share all my knowledge about making this dough to provide you with the best recipe for all-purpose flour pizza crust.
Servings: 5 pizza crusts
Calories: 1250kcal
Equipment
- bench scraper
- kitchen scale
- pizza stone or pizza oven
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups water (70°F or 21°C)
- 4 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 7 ¼ cups, plus more for stretching the dough all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
Instructions
- Whisk together water and salt until combined.
- To a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook add the water mixture along with half of the flour. Mix on medium speed until a loose dough forms. Add the remaining flour and yeast, then continue mixing on medium speed for 7 minutes. To test that the dough is ready, pinch off a little piece and stretch it out. The dough should stretch thin enough that you can see light through the dough without any tearing. If the dough breaks right away, continue kneading. If at any time your mixer becomes too hot, take a break, or begin hand kneading (see notes below).
- Roll the dough into a tight ball, then place it in a lightly oiled mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rest for 1 hour.
- Divide dough into five 9.9 ounces (280 grams) portions using a bench scraper. Roll each piece of dough into a tight ball. Place rolled dough balls into a lightly greased storage container roughly 3 inches (7 cm) apart from each other, and tightly secure with plastic wrap.
- Store the dough in the refrigerator for 48 hours to develop flavor.
- When you're ready to cook the pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to come to room temperature. Arrange the oven rack to the center of the oven. Place a pizza stone on the rack, then heat oven to 450°F (230°C). Allow the oven and pizza stone to preheat for at least 30 minutes. Alternatively, heat pizza oven to 810°F (432°C).
- Lightly, flour a clean work surface. Pour some additional flour into a mixing bowl. Grab a dough ball with a bench scraper, place in the mixing bowl, and cover both sides in flour. Flatten one dough ball slightly with your hands, then use your fingers to make an indent for the crust. Once the dough is circular, use the outer palm of your hand to continue stretching the dough until it reaches a 13 inch (33 cm) circle with even thickness. To help stretch the dough, hang it on your knuckles, and allow gravity to pull it downwards.
- Top the dough with your desired sauce, toppings, and cheese, then bake on a pizza stone dusted with cornmeal for 10–14 minutes until the crust is golden brown. If you are using a pizza oven, bake for 60–90 seconds, rotating as needed, until the crust is golden brown and the bottom of the dough is fully cooked. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
Notes
Hand Kneading Instructions (If you don't have a stand mixer, follow these instructions for step 2):
To a mixing bowl, add the water mixture along with half of the flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until a loose dough forms. Add remaining flour and yeast, then continue mixing with a wooden spoon or clean hands, until most of the flour has incorporated into the dough. Pour the dough onto a clean work surface and knead by hand for 10 minutes (don't cut this time short). To test that the dough is ready, pinch off a little piece and stretch it out. The dough should stretch thin enough that you can see light through the dough without any tearing. If the dough breaks right away, continue kneading.
Freeze Dough: If you have leftover pizza dough, it can be frozen for later. Place the dough ball in an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 1 month. When you're ready to use the dough, place it in the refrigerator to thaw overnight. Then remove the dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to come to room temperature before baking.
Properly Measure Flour: If you're measuring flour volumetrically (with cups), it's very important to properly measure, or you'll have too much flour in the dough. To properly measure, first fluff the flour with a spoon, scoop it into a measuring cup, and level it off with a knife.
My preferred method is measuring the flour by weight (in grams). You can do so by clicking the button that says "US Customary/Metric" and selecting the "Metric" side of the button to get gram measurements.
Nutrition
Serving: 1pizza (crust only) | Calories: 1250kcal | Carbohydrates: 262g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Sodium: 1873mg | Potassium: 370mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 16mg
