Preparing Perfect Pizza Dough

Perhaps one of the most famous Italian foods is pizza. It is hard to find someone that doesn't like pizza, especially since pizza artisans can create the perfect food with whatever toppings your heart desires. However for a more authentic experience, you should give pizza making a whirl at home. Creating the perfect pizza dough is not as hard as it sounds, and will beat the ready-made variety hands down. You and your family will be delighted with the results, and you will wonder why you have never given it a try before now.

What You Will Need To Get Started

Breakfast Pizza

Making your own pizza dough is not as difficult as it might seem. You really only need a few ingredients and a large bowl. The following is a simple recipe that will make enough for two plate-sized pizzas - enough for at least two people, maybe four if you have other dishes available. Remember, Italian pizzas are designed to be personal-sized so that everyone can have exactly what they would like on them. You will need 400 grams (about 14 ounces) of strong white bread flour. If you can find doppio zero flour, that is even better. Pour the flour into a bowl, add a few grinds of salt, and then mix in one packet of dried active yeast. Mix well.

Preparing The Pizza Dough

Once you have all the dry ingredients together for your pizza dough, it is time to get kneading. Pour in 250 milliliters of warm water (about a cup). This will activate the yeast so that your dough starts to rise. Start combining the dry ingredients with the water using your hands. This will cause a ball of dough to start to form. For a more finished flavor, you can add in a small amount of olive oil and milk to the dough. You will need to continue working the dough until all of the ingredients are combined and you have a smooth ball. If the dough remains too wet, add a little more flour to the mixture until it reaches the desired consistency. It should maintain its shape and not cling to the sides.

Rising Up

Once you have your pizza dough at the desired size, remove it from the bowl. Pour in enough olive oil to give the bowl a coating. Return the dough to the bowl and turn several times so that it is coated in oil. Doing so will prevent a dry crust from forming. Allow the dough to sit in the bowl in a warm part of the kitchen for two to three hours. It needs to double in size before you are ready to move on to the next step.

Prepping For Toppings

Once your pizza dough has properly risen, you will want to punch it down to remove the excess air. Flour your work surface and work the dough out. Cut it into two and work each piece into your desired shape. Whether you want a round or square pizza is up to you and will depend on the type of tray or stone that you will be baking it on. Allow the dough to rise for another 30 minutes on the baking tray. Top as desired and bake to create your perfect pizza.

Preparing Perfect Pizza Dough

Anna Fiori writes food related articles for the Italian Traditional Food website at http://www.italiantraditionalfood.com

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