Easy Pizza Dough

Take your Saturday night to the next level by making homemade pizzas using my easy pizza dough. Trust me, it's as easy as it gets.

Saturday night dinners

Let me start by asking you a question – what does Saturday night mean to you?

For some people it is a chance to let their hair down after a long week at work, perhaps having a drink with friends or going out dancing. For me its an evening to chill out and veg out in front of the TV. Perhaps not the most exciting Saturday night in the world but from a young age I've associated Saturday nights with good home cooked food and something interesting to watch on the TV, all snuggled up on the sofa.

Saturday nights were one of the few times my Dad was in the kitchen when I was growing up. Although he’s the better cook out of my two parents (sorry Mum!) it was down to Mum to put dinners on the table mid-week.

Come Saturday night my Dad would be a flurry of activity in the kitchen, either cooking up sizzling fajitas, a bold spicy curry or making pizzas from scratch.

On pizza nights, I remember him calling my sister and I to the dinning room table – there wasn’t a lot of room in the kitchen. All of the ingredients would already be laid out and we’d get our hands stuck into the mix of flour, yeast and olive oil giving it a really good knead.

For me the dough wasn’t the fun part, but instead loading the fresh pizza base with toppings! I always got carried away and mine would take by far the longest to cook.

Now, I still love staying in on a Saturday night cooking with Jon, and pizza or calzone is a firm favourite.

How to make my easy pizza dough

This easy pizza dough recipe has been used by us hundreds of times. And, as it makes enough for 4 medium pizzas we often have a couple of balls of dough tucked away in the freezer. (That's right, this dough not only keeps for up to a week in the fridge but you can freeze it too!)

The recipe calls for just five ingredients, and one of those is water! The others are:

• Flour
• Yeast
• Olive oil
• Salt

The first thing you need to do is activate your yeast according to the packets instructions. They do sometimes differ so following the packet is best.

In the meantime you need to mix the flour and the salt. you want the salt to be well distributed throughout the flour as salt can kill yeast and you don't want that to happen when the yeast hits the flour.

Next you add the water and olive oil to the flour along with the activated yeast. Bring this together until it forms a ball then knead until smooth. This should take roughly 10 minutes and can be done even quicker if using a mixer with a dough hook.

Leave to prove for an hour and a half somewhere warm or until it's doubled in size. (I highly recommend making this in the afternoon so it's ready for dinner time).

Cut the dough into 4 pieces and roll out into circles that are roughly half a centimetre thick.

All that's left to do now is cover in tomato sauce and your favourite toppings!

Topping inspiration

Once you’ve mastered the dough, all you have to do next is master your toppings. My only advice would be to avoid using more than 4 flavours and not to overload the pizza, otherwise the toppings will take longer to cook. A high heat is also essential so whack your oven up as high as it goes!

For now I’m just sharing the dough recipe – it’s up to you what you do with the top! Nonetheless, here are some ideas you may want to try.

Cheese

Although mozzarella is the classic choice for a pizza, you can add a whole range of different cheese (four cheese pizza is my favourite - you can't get enough cheese!) Why not try one of these:

• Mozzarella
• Ricotta
• Cheddar
• Gorgonzola
• Provolone
• Goats cheese
• Parmesan

Meat

• Pepperoni
• Chorizo
• Parma ham or prosciutto
• Chicken
• Ground beef

Vegetables

You can put almost any vegetable on a pizza - some might require a little cooking first. Here are some of my favourites:

• Mushroom
• Spinach
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• Potato
• Courgette
• Aubergine

Fruits

I love fruit on pizza, it can pair really well with different cheese in particular. Why not try:

• Grapes
• Pear
• Nectarines
• Pineapple!

How to cook pizza

Pizza is best cooked on a very high heat - turn up your oven as high as it goes. Cook on high for 15 minutes or until the dough is crisp and the toppings are cooked.

The recipe

Easy Pizza Dough

Emma

It is so easy to make pizza dough, from scratch, at home. Forget ordering from your local takeaway!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Proving time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 medium pizzas

Calories 628.92 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 500 grams strong white bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 400 millilitres water
• 7 grams fast action dried yeast
• olive oil for kneading

Instructions

 

• Put the flour and salt into a large bowl
• In a separate jug, mix the yeast into the water.
• Pour the yeast water into the flour and salt and mix until it comes together to form a ball. (You may find it easiest doing this with an electric mixer using dough hooks.)
• Knead the dough on a lightly oiled surface for 10-15 mins until it is shiny and it springs back when you press your finger into it. (This will take 5-10 minutes if you're using a mixer with dough hooks.)
• Once kneaded, use oiled hands to remove the dough from the bowl and place it into another bowl that has been lightly brushed with oil.
• Cover with a tea towel and place in a warm spot until it has doubled in size. (This is likely to take at least 1.5 hours but can take up to 3 hours depending on the weather).
• Divide the dough into 4 pieces and shape into balls.
• You can either use the dough immediately or store it in the fridge or freezer for later use.
• If using immediately top with your favourite toppings and bake in your oven (at its hottest temp) at for 15 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Nutrition

Calories: 628.92kcalCarbohydrates: 91.29gProtein: 16.65gFat: 20.97gSaturated Fat: 2.94gSodium: 587.37mgPotassium: 125.31mgFiber: 3.73gSugar: 0.41gVitamin A: 2.5IUCalcium: 21.17mgIron: 1.23mg

Keyword olive oil, strong white bread flour, yeast

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