How to make perfect Italian pizza dough?

How to make perfect Italian pizza dough?

Italian traditions always play a huge role in the recipe for making pizza. But even if you are using authentic Italian ingredients and the best Italian pizza dough recipe, it will still fail to achieve that amazing taste without proper cooking skills. So today I would like to share a Perfect Italian Pizza Dough Recipe,  it may be the one and only pizza dough recipe you will ever need.

 

Here are all the ingredients required for making perfect pizza dough which is soft and airy, just like the one made in your favorite pizzeria. You can buy it here

Ingredients:

1kg type 00 pizza flour

500mL water

0.5-1g rising flour

5g salt (or to taste)

After preparing for those necessary ingredients, we are heading to the most important part: the process of making a perfect Italian pizza dough.

The Steps involved:

Step 1: Add water to the bowl (should be in the 20-22 degrees celsius range so as to not change the qualities of the flour), the rising flour, the salt and add the flour through a sifter gradually. The purpose of the sifter will incorporate air into the dough and break up any lumps.

Step 2: Mix it for 6-7 minutes with a machine, or about 20-30 minutes with your hand, until uniform. After that, form balls from 180 to 250g. This will yield about 7 to 9 pizza “balls” of dough. 

Cup your hands and work the dough in circular motions.

Step 3: Take the dough and fold it into itself, beat it on the table to flatten out the dough

Repeat until the dough is well smooth and round.

Step 4: Place the pizza “balls” into a tray, cover it with a damp cloth (or sprinkle water on top and cover with wrapping film), place it in a place free of wind because wind is the number one enemy, as it tends to dry the dough and form a crust on the surface.

If possible, at a temperature between 24 and 27 degrees celsius. Let the flour rise for at least 4 hours.

If you keep the dough at a colder temperature, let it rise for longer, up to 72hours.

Important information: 

The strength of the flour is determined by a number of properties such as the degree of water absorption and the amount of protein (a strong flour has a greater amount of protein and absorbs more water). 00 flour is the most refined flour found in Italy. Being so fine, it creates a dough that is silky and maintains a chewiness when cooked 

→ you will find all this info in the product descriptions

Letting enough time for the flour to rise allows the enzymes contained in the flour to trigger the chemical processes that transform starch (carbohydrates) into simple sugars and gluten (proteins) into simple amino acids, these processes and transformations give the final product a great digestibility, having performed a good part of the work that our stomach would otherwise have to do. The more you let the flour rise, the easier it becomes to digest.

Every chef has their own secret to satisfy their customers that is rarely known by normal people. However, I choose to show it to you guys. Below are important tips to achieving the perfect crust:

When the dough is compact and elastic, moist but not sticky, avoid kneading. The dough is ready as you gently press your finger into it and the hole slowly bounces out.

Let the mixture rest until at least doubled in size. Long fermentation causes chemical processes that turn starch (carbohydrates) into simple sugars and gluten (proteins) into simple amino acids, thanks to the enzyme contained in the flour.

Using a pinch of semolina to sprinkle the wordstation or counter top. This is an old trick for giving the base some crunch. Replace the flour with a small amount of semolina and sprinkle it on the work surface before “opening” the pizza. Semolina has a grainy texture that will give the base a good crunchy texture.

Learning about food, especially to make a perfect one is one of the greatest joys in humans’ life. With the detailed instructions above, I hope you can make the most mouth-watering Italian pizza dough. Please let us know if you like it. Thank you for reading!