Traditional Pizzas
You CAN make delicious hand-stretched traditional pizzas at home! Simple ingredients and a bit of patience = Italian perfection.Before You StartStart this recipe at least 24 hours ahead of serving, or up to 3 days in advance. The first two steps below are time critical. Step 3 is where the time ‘flex’ can happen to suit your needs1. Make Dough (25 minutes)2. Prove (1-2 hours, depending on temperature of environment).3. Long, Cold ferment – 1-3 days. Make the Tomato & Basil sauce if making your own.4. Dough at Room Temperature – 1 ½ hours before serving (you can prep the toppings in this time).5. Preheat Oven – an hour before cooking6. Cook & Serve – pizzas take 8-10 minutes to cook. You can prep each one while the previous one is cooking.You’ll need a total of 240ml of pizza sauce and 210g mozzarella for all three pizzas. It doesn't matter what variety of pizzas you make; it's the same for all. If you’re following the recipe for my Tomato & Basil Sauce, you’ll need one portion. There will be a little left over to freeze for another day.
Servings: 3 pizzas (3-4 people) 25-30cm diameter
Equipment
- (optional) Pizza Stone
- Flat baking sheet/pizza peel
Ingredients
DOUGH (3 Pizzas)
- 220 ml lukewarm water
- 6 g instant dried yeast
- 170 g ‘OO’ flour (note)
- 180 g strong/bread flour (note)
- 12 g salt
- olive oil
FOR STRETCHING OUT THE DOUGH
- a little plain flour
- a little semolina
TOPPINGS (ALL THREE PIZZAS, PER PIZZA)
- 80/ml pizza sauce
- 70g mozzarella sliced and dried between layers of paper towel
ADDITIONAL TOPPINGS (PER PIZZA)
Hawaiian
- 30 g ham thinly sliced/torn
- 60 g pineapple fresh, cut into small chunks
- dried oregano
- salt
- drizzle of olive oil
Margherita
- 5 g parmesan cheese finely grated (about a Tablespoon’s worth)
- sprinkle of dried oregano
- basil leaves
- sprinkle of salt
- drizzle of olive oil
Pepperoni
- 40 g pepperoni thinly sliced
Instructions
Prepare the Dough
- Water, Yeast, Flours - in a stand-mixer bowl, add water and yeast. Combine briefly with a hand whisk, then top with both types of flour.220 ml lukewarm water6 g instant dried yeast170 g ‘OO’ flour180 g strong/bread flour
- First Knead - using the dough hook attachment, mix at medium speed until the dough comes together. This will take about 2 minutes. It will look craggy.
- Rest Dough - drape tea towel over bowl and let dough rest 15 minutes
- Add Salt, Second Knead - add salt and mix again at medium-high speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.12 g salt
- Laminate Dough - turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled surface. Press out into rectangle with your fingers (it will be quite stiff), then fold into thirds like a letter. Rub some oil around a plastic/glass container and lay in the dough, turning it over several times to coat with oil.olive oil
- First Rise - cover the container loosely with a shower cap or plastic wrap. Allow to rise at warm room temperature until its volume has roughly doubled. This will take 1-2 hours. When you prod the dough gently with a finger, it should rebound slightly.
- Laminate Dough (again) - gently tip the dough out. Press into a rectangle with your fingers, fold in thirds like a letter, rotate 90°, then fold in thirds again.
- Long Cold Fermentation - place the folded dough back into the oiled container. There needs to be some extra space to allow for a little growth. Refrigerate at least one day, up to three days.
Making the Pizzas
- Portion Dough - approximately 1 ½ hours before serving, remove the dough from the fridge. Gently tip out onto and un-floured work surface. Press out any big bubbles and divide into three even portions.
- Shape Balls - form each portion into a rough ball shape. The dough will be quite stiff. Gather the edges under and pinch together to form a domed, taut top surface. Place seam-side down onto an un-floured work surface. Under a cupped palm, roll in small circles to form a tight, even ball. You’ll want to keep your hand quite open but press down on dough firmly. The goal is to end up with a tight ball with no large cracks or crevices. Make sure to check the underneath of the ball too. Continue to roll the dough under your palm until it is relatively smooth. Any large seams will make the pizzas tear easily once stretched
- Prove - transfer the dough balls to a baking sheet sprayed with a little olive oil. Leave some space between them. We want them to stay separate even after relaxing and flattening. Spray the tops with some oil before covering loosely with plastic wrap. Let them rise at room temperature until they get puffy and soft. Depending on room temperature, this will take around 1 ½ hours. When gently prodded, the fully proved dough springs back a little, but leaves a slight indent. If it’s too springy, it’s not ready yet; the pizza bases will shrink back in when you try to stretch them out.
- Preheat Oven - at least an hour before baking the pizzas, preheat to max. heat. Put a pizza stone in place on a centre rack.
- Prepare Toppings - get all the toppings organised. You want to be ready to top and bake the first pizza as soon as you have stretched the first base. This list of ingredients below assumes you are making one of each.80/ml pizza sauce70g mozzarella30 g ham60 g pineappledried oreganosalt5 g parmesan cheesebasil leaves40 g pepperonidrizzle of olive oil
- Flour Work Surface - on the work surface (not right next to the edge!), combine 2 Tablespoons semolina flour and 2 Tablespoons plain flour. Bring together into a flattened mound.a little semolinaa little plain flour
- Pizza Peel - sprinkle some extra semolina to aid with sliding the prepared pizza into the oven.
- Coat Dough Ball - put two Tablespoons plain flour in a medium-sized bowl. Handling the dough gently, put one of the dough balls in and turn to coat on all sides, including the edges.a little plain flour
- Stretching Dough - put the portion of dough on top of the mound of flour. Press in the centre with your thumb and fingertips together, then stretch them apart. Rotate the dough as you do this by turning your wrist. Keep your fingertips just inside the circle to maintain an airy rim around the edge. Carry on until the disc of dough is 25-30cm diameter.
- Transfer Base to Pizza Peel - lightly pick up the dough by draping it over the backs of your hands. Gently transfer to the semolina-lined pizza peel.
Apply Toppings - pick a pizza!
- Hawaiian PizzaEvenly spread the pizza sauce, leaving a 1cm border sauce-free. Evenly distribute the mozzarella and then the other toppings.80/ml pizza sauce70g mozzarella30 g ham60 g pineapplesprinkle of dried oreganosprinkle of saltdrizzle of olive oil
- MargheritaEvenly spread the pizza sauce, leaving a 1cm border sauce-free. Evenly distribute the mozzarella. Save some basil leaves to sprinkle over the cooked pizza. Evenly distribute the other toppings.80/ml pizza sauce70g mozzarelladried oregano5 g parmesan cheesebasil leavessprinkle of saltdrizzle of olive oil
- Pepperoni Evenly spread the pizza sauce, leaving a 1cm border sauce-free. Evenly distribute the mozzarella. Evenly distribute the other toppings.80/ml pizza sauce70g mozzarella40 g pepperoni
- Slide Pizza - with confidence, slide or shimmy the pizza quickly and smoothly onto the pizza stone. Shut the oven door quick-smart.
- Bake Pizza - bake for around 10 minutes. The pizza is ready when the crust is deep golden brown and beginning to char and bottom of pizza is crisp. Try not to open the oven door to check during bake.
- Get Next Pizza Ready- gathering up the flour into a mound again, repeat steps from 'Stretching Dough' onwards with the next dough ball. Top just before the pizza goes in the oven.
- Remove from Oven - when cooked, use tongs to pinch the nearest bit of crust and pull out directly onto a wooden serving board. Close oven again quickly. Bring the pizza to the table to serve and throw the next prepared pizza in the oven. Let pizzas rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
'OO' flour - also known as doppio zero flour, is a finely milled Italian flour that is exceptionally soft and finely ground. It has a lower gluten content compared to other flours, which results in a more elastic and airy crust.
Strong or bread flour - is characterized by its high gluten content, typically around 12-14% protein. This makes it ideal for pizza dough as it promotes gluten development, resulting in a stretchy and chewy crust that can support toppings and bake to a crispy texture on the outside while remaining tender inside.