Dough, Re, Me

Who knew... the one time I don't include a recipe in the post, I get multiple requests to share it. First, I figured any of my regular readers who might make their own dough, probably had their own recipe. Second, it is a BASIC recipe. I am sure there are many others out there. If you have a favorite pizza dough recipe, please included it in a comment. 


Here is the Basic Pizza Dough Recipe from Biba Caggiano.

Basic Pizza Dough

From Biba’s Italian Kitchen by Biba Caggiano

1 ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 package active dry yeast, dissolved in ½ plus 2 tablespoons of lukewarm (100 – 120 degrees)

1-tablespoon olive oil

1-teaspoon salt

Makes 1-12 inch pizza (approx)_

Made by Hand:

Put all of the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix well with your hands until incorporated. Put the dough on a work surface and kneed 5 to 6 minutes or until the dough is smooth and pliable. If it seems a bit sticky, knead in a little more flour. Dust the dough lightly with flour and place in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a moist kitchen towel or with plastic wrap and put in a warm, draft-free place to rise, 1 – 1 ½ hours. At this point the dough should have doubled in volume, be springy, and have small gas bubbles all over its surface.

Made in Electric Mixer:

Put the flour in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the dissolved yeast, oil, and salt and with the dough hook, mix well at medium-low speed until all ingredients are incorporated. Increase the speed to high and knead the dough 4 to 5 minutes. Dust the dough lightly with flour and place in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a moist kitchen towel or with plastic wrap and put in a warm, draft-free place to rise, 1 – 1 ½ hours.

Made with Food Processor

Put the flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the dissolved yeast and the oil and pulse the machine on and off until the dough is loosely gathered around the blade. Remove the dough from and knead it by hand 2 to 3 minutes. Dust the dough lightly with flour and place in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a moist kitchen towel or with plastic wrap and put in a warm, draft-free place to rise, 1 – 1 ½ hours.

Preheat the oven at 450 degrees for at least 30 minutes. Form pizza, top and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.