Homemade pizza base

 My all time favorite homemade pizza dough recipe. My family now likes homemade pizza better than take out.

We are pizza loving family. And for years I searched and searched for the perfect pizza dough recipe. I tried dozens or more. And while some were good, none of them were that recipe that would make me stop trying all of  the others.

The secret to the best homemade pizza dough.

The secret is in how much flour you add to the dough. This is where I get a little unconventional, because the ingredients are all pretty normal. But my one thing that I think many times people fail and end up with dry, dense bread because they are adding too much flour. I thought about how about wet that dough was, and how I never questioned it because I always did the ingredients by weight and just trusted.

So where this recipe differs from most is the amount of flour and the consistency of the dough.

The most important step is to not keep adding flour until the dough is not sticky anymore. Sticky means your are doing it right in this recipe.(see.....told you this was different. This goes against pretty much every other pizza dough recipe out there). Don’t be afraid about the dough sticking everywhere when you roll it out. It’s not quite as sticky after it rises and you will use some additional flour to shape it and roll it. This recipe might not come easy the first or second time you try  it. It’s one of those recipes that might take a little bit of practice. But believe me for the perfect homemade pizza it’s totally worth it.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour......1 1/4 cup
Dry Yeast........1 tsp
Sugar.........1tsp
Salt......1/2 tsp
Olive oil.......3tbsp
Water........1/4 cup warm water
Water.......1/4  cup normal water

Method:

Starts by  combining warm water with your yeast and some sugar. It should start to forth up after a few minutes. If it doesn’t toss it and start again your water may be too warm or your yeast may be bad. Once it’s frothy add in the olive oil combine the salt and the flour. Now add more water to the dough. The dough will still look pretty wet and sticky. It will not pull away from the sides of the bowl  

by itself, but you should be able to scrape it down with a spatula.

Most pizza dough recipes will say it should be tacky but not sticky, not this one. It should stick to your fingers still. Cover the dough and rest for 20 mins. After 20mins mix the dough well, rub it, scrap it, need it will. 

Scrape the dough out into the casserole. You will need a spatula to scrape the dough. Cover with lid and allow it to rise until doubled. This usually takes about an hour, depending on how warm the house is.

Sprinkle some flour on a work surface, lightly punch the dough down, then it out onto the floured surface. Your pizza dough is ready for baking. If the dough is still a bit sticky when you go to roll it out, just sprinkle on a little more flour, I like to actually use my hands to stretch the dough instead of rolling it, which helps with any sticking as well. But you will  be surprise at how not sticky the dough is at this point.

Dust flour and roll the dough to a thin base and cut it out with a lid to get perfect circle. Roll using a chapati roller to a thin base. Dust flour when needed.

 Preheat the oven for 10 mins at 200 degree Celsius .

Prick the base with fork for even cooking and to avoid puffing up. Look at the thickness of the base. Grease a baking tray with little butter. Transfer the rolled pizza base to the baking tray. Bake in preheated oven at 200 degree Celsius for 3 to 4 mins.

Base will leave the sides and it will start moving easily in the tray. Do not over bake. Cool down completely and store in ziplock cover and keep it refrigerated.

When you want to make pizza, bring the base to room temperature and proceed making the pizza.

Serve hot!