American Style Pizza Dough

Preparation

Proofing room temperature (min 6 - max 24 hours) or cold fermenting (min 8 - max 72 hours)

Oven temperature: 200 – 300°C

Baking time: 8 - 15 mins

Mixing & Kneading

For this stage of the process you will need your ingredients, 2 large bowls (flour & water), 2/3 small bowls (yeast, salt & sugar), 2 spoons and a set of scales.

  • Use the TSNZ Pizza Dough Calculator to select your style, size and quantity of pizza to determine the weight of each ingredient.
  • Accurately weigh your ingredients into the bowls.
  • Pour the salt into the water and mix until fully dissolved
  • Add around 10% of the flour to the salt water and mix thoroughly.

Tip: the salt water will damage the yeast preventing your dough from rising so the flour is used to protect the yeast.

  • Add the yeast to the salt water / flour and mix thoroughly
  • When fully combined add the remaining flour
  • Add the sugar
  • Loosely mix together with a spoon.
  • Add olive oil
  • Continue mixing with your fingertips and begin to knead the dough inside the bowl for a few minutes.
  • Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. This will typically take around 10 to 20 minutes.
  • Form into a dough ball
  • Lightly coat the inside of a bowl with olive oil and place the dough ball inside.
  • Lightly coat the outside of the dough ball with oil – this will help prevent it drying out.

Proofing & Rising

You have two options for this proofing the dough: room temperature or cold fermenting

1. Room temperature
  • Cover the dough ball and bowl with Glad Wrap or a damp towel and allow to ferment for a minimum of 2 hours.
  • After resting, portion the dough to the desired weight pieces and place into a lightly floured surface.
  • Form each portion into dough balls.
  • Place the dough balls onto a lightly floured baking tray
  • Cover the dough balls with Glad Wrap or a damp towel and allow to rise at room temperature for 4-24 hours.
  • Now its time to make your pizza bases
2. Cold Fermenting
  • Cover the dough ball and bowl with Glad Wrap / damp towel or place dough ball in an airtight container and place into the fridge for 8 to 72 hours.
  • Remove the dough from the fridge and portion the dough to the desired weight pieces and place onto a lightly floured surface.
  • Form each portion into dough balls.
  • Allow the dough balls to get to room temperature before shaping into your pizza base, this will typically take around 2 to 4 hours.

 Shaping Dough

  • Place the doughball onto a lightly floured surface
  • Avoiding the outer 2cm of the dough edge, press the dough outwards using the fingertips of your middle three fingers, while turning the dough until is around 10cm in diameter.
  • To stretch the dough, carefully pick up the dough with both hands from one edge and allow the rest of the dough hang down and gravity do the work.
  • Rotate the dough quickly through your hands, allowing the dough to hang and stretch.

Tip: Another technique to stretch the dough is to lay the dough over the back of your thumb knuckle and hand then gently transfer from hand to hand while rotating the dough.

  • When you have stretched the dough to the desired size and thickness lay your dough onto a well-floured pizza peel.
  • Tip: Before topping the pizza double check the dough hasn’t stuck to the peel
  • Its now time to cook your pizza in your TSNZ Wood Fired Oven, this will typically take 1 to 4 minutes (times will vary depending on the temperature of your oven).

Cooking

When your TSNZ Wood Fired Oven is at the right cooking temperature, place your pizza into the oven using your TSNZ pizza peel. The pizza should be placed evenly spaced between the fire and wall of the oven. An infrared thermometer is useful and allows you to check the temperature in different zones of your oven. Carefully watch the pizza cooking and use your TSNZ turning toll to turn the pizza to ensure even cooking.