KC and I received a bread maker for our wedding (thanks Oliver and Sophie!), and I have been obsessed with making pizza dough from scratch ever since.  It’s absurdly easy (even if you don’t have a bread maker), much cheaper, and wayyy more delicious than any store-bought brand I’ve tried.

I like to make a 2 pound batch, which makes two large-ish pizzas.  My favorite recipe combines white flour (I like to use bread flour or 00 flour if I’ve got it) with a bit of whole wheat flour, which I think gives the dough a nice texture — a good crispy bottom and slightly chewy crust.

My favorite type of pizza is traditional Roman-style pizza, which is ultra-thin and ultra-crispy — almost bordering on cracker-like.  The recipe below (which I make pretty much weekly) gives you a nice thin crust, but isn’t quite as thin as true Roman pizza.  As for the crispiness, that is slightly dependent on how you cook your dough.

I like to stretch my dough by hand, and press it into a pan until it’s nice and thin throughout.  This dough is best when slightly warm right after making it, or when brought to room temp if you’ve saved it in the fridge or freezer (it’s kind of difficult to handle when cold).

As you can tell from the pictures, I don’t worry too much about making my pizzas “pretty.”  I believe true pizza isn’t perfectly shaped, but rather a little free-form and rustic.  If you’ve ever had traditional pizza in Italy, you’ll know that you rarely, if ever, see a pizza that looks like the puffed, golden, perfectly-round pies favored by American eateries.  Italian pizzas are very much homemade-looking (and tasting).  And I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather have a delicious, fresh-tasting pizza than some commercially good-looking cardboard slice; so don’t worry too much if your pizza ends up looking a bit like the state of Michigan (as mine often do).

Recipe:

Easy-Peasy Pizza Dough

• 1 1/3 cups warm water (80-90° F)
• 1 tsp. honey (you could also use sugar here)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil (plus more for brushing, if not using a bread maker)
• 2 tsp. salt (I use sea salt, but kosher would work well, too)
• 3 1/4 cups white flour (I use bread flour or 00 flour*)
• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 packet yeast (I use active dry)

If using a bread maker:

1. Place all ingredients in the bread maker in the order listed above.  Set your maker to the “dough” setting (mine has a dough/pizza dough setting) and let it do its thing.

If not using a bread maker:

1. Using an electric mixer fitted with a dough paddle, combine the water, honey or sugar, and yeast, then stir to dissolve.  Let stand until mixture starts to foam, about 5 minutes.
2.  Turn the mixer on low and add the olive oil and salt.  Add the flour, a little at a time, until it’s fully incorporated.  When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium, stopping periodically to pull the dough off the hook for mixing consistency.
3. Check the consistency of the dough by pulling a bit off the ball — if it’s crumbly, add more water.  If it’s very sticky, add more flour.  (Add either water or flour 1 tbsp at a time until the consistency is correct.)  Mix until the dough comes into a ball, about 5 minutes.
4. Place dough on a lightly floured board and fold it over itself a few times until it’s smooth and elastic.
5. Form dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl, turning the dough over to coat each side.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp towel and set in a warm spot until its doubled in size.  (If it’s a warm day, you can leave it on the counter.  If it’s cold, place it in a warm oven (100° or so), or over the pilot light on your stovetop.)

At this point, your pizza dough is ready for use.  Here’s how I like to proceed:

1. Preheat oven to 475°
2. Place dough on a floured surface and cut in half.  Place one half into a ziploc bag and store it in the fridge/freezer for later.
3. Stretch out dough, then press it into a thin layer on an oiled sheet pan.
4. Brush the surface of the dough with a bit of olive oil, and you’re ready for anything.

*00 flour is my flour of choice for making pizza — it’s traditional Italian pizza flour, and works well due to it’s soft consistency and high-gluten content.  However, 00 flour is significantly more expensive than traditional flour, and can generally only be found in Italian markets and specialty stores.  (Also, if anyone has a place that sells 00 flour in bags larger than 2.2 lbs — let me know!)  That said, for those of you not looking to spend $4+ on 2.2 lbs of flour, bread flour works quite well in this recipe as well.  Bread flour has a higher gluten content, making it ideal for traditional breads and doughs; although, I’m sure all-purpose would work just fine in a pinch as well.

A favorite flatbread recipe coming up next week.  Let’s get this pizza party started!