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Artisan Pizza Crust

Barbara
Baking up the perfect pizza in your home oven is possible using basic ingredients. This crust has the crispy burnt edges with a great chew and depth of flavor you typically only get from a pizzeria made pizza.
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Prep Time 7 hours 35 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Cold Ferment 2 days
Total Time 2 days 7 hours 45 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 2 pizza crusts

Equipment

  • pizza steel or baking stone
  • kitchen scale
  • Pizza Peel

Ingredients
  

  • 500 grams all purpose flour
  • 375 grams water, plus 2 tablespoons
  • 2 grams active dry yeast
  • 15 grams fine salt
  • olive oil

Instructions
 

Make the dough:

  • In a bowl stir together the 500 grams of flour and 375 grams of water until combined and you have a shaggy dough.
  • Set aside and allow dough to rest for 20 minutes.
  • In a small bowl stir together 2 tablespoons water with the yeast. Set it aside and let it rest alongside the dough.
  • After the dough has rested for 20 minutes sprinkle the dough with the salt.
  • Stir the yeast water and pour it over the dough.
  • Wet your hands so the dough doesn't stick to them and begin the stretch and folds. Grab one edge of the dough, pull it up and fold it into the center of the bowl. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the process several times.
  • Take one wet hand and start pinching the dough into 5 or 6 sections. Fold the dough over onto itself and pinch the dough again into 5 or 6 sections.
  • Continue pinching and folding dough over until the salt and the yeast water is fully incorporated into the dough, about 8-10 times.
  • Cover the bowl with a dish towel and allow dough to rest for an hour.
  • After an hour, do another series of stretch and folds. Wet your hands to prevent sticking and grab one edge of the dough, pull it up and fold it into the center of the bowl. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the process several times.
  • Keep stretching and folding until dough starts to tighten up and you are able to form the dough into a loose ball.
  • Grease another bowl with some olive oil.
  • Take the dough ball and transfer it to the greased bowl with the smooth side facing up. Drizzle the top of the dough ball with a little olive oil and use your hand to coat the entire ball of dough with the oil.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until it has doubled in volume, about 5-6 hours.
  • Once the dough has doubled in volume turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
  • Cut dough in half.
  • Stretch out one half of the dough by grabbing one edge and pulling up until you feel resistance, then fold it into the center. Repeat until you have repeated this process 4-5 times and you have formed the dough into a loose ball.
  • Pull the ball towards you cupping it in both hands, stretching the top of the dough and forming a tighter ball as you pull the ball of dough towards you. Repeat this process, pulling the ball of dough towards you tightening the ball of dough until you have a smooth, tight ball of dough.
  • Transfer the ball of dough onto a greased plate and repeat this process with the second half of the dough.
  • Lightly grease the two balls of dough with olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for an hour.
  • After an hour transfer each ball of dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and wrap tightly.
  • Place wrapped dough balls in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
  • NOTE: Dough can be frozen at this point for longer storage. When ready to make pizza, remove dough from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Bake pizzas:

  • Place a pizza steel or baking stone in the oven on the middle rack.
  • Preheat oven to 475℉. Allow oven to preheat for 45 minutes.
  • While the oven is preheating, remove dough from the refrigerator.
  • Flour a pizza peel generously with flour.
  • Place a ball of dough onto the floured peel and flatten it out. Grab the edges of the dough and gently stretch and form the dough into a 12-14 inch circle leaving the outer edge of dough thicker than the center.
  • Jiggle the peel to make sure the dough isn't sticking to the peel. If it's sticking lift the edges of the dough and add more flour to the peel.
  • Top the dough with your favorite pizza sauce, a layer of grated mozzarella cheese and the toppings of your choice.
  • Once pizza steel is screaming hot, gently slide pizza off of the pizza peel onto the pizza steel in the oven.
  • TIP: If transferring the pizza onto the pizza steel in a hot oven intimidates you, remove the pizza steel from the oven and slide the pizza off the peel and onto the steel. Return the steel right back into the oven to bake the pizza.
  • Bake pizza for 5-6 minutes until the cheese is melted and crust is starting to brown. The crust will puff up as it bakes.
  • Lift up the edge and check to make sure crust is a nice golden brown on the bottom. Turn oven temperature to broil and broil pizza for 2-4 minutes or until the pizza crust edges start to burn in spots ever so slightly and blisters.
  • Remove pizza from the oven and repeat the same process with the second ball of dough.
Keyword dough, pizza, yeast dough