The Best No Knead Pizza Dough Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to good pizza dough? ›

Use warm water to cut down on rise time, about 100-110°F. Anything over 130ºF kills the yeast. Flour: Use unbleached all-purpose white flour in this recipe. Bleaching the flour strips away some of the protein, which will affect how much water the flour absorbs. You can substitute bread flour for a chewier pizza crust.

Kneading your pizza dough helps build up gluten. If your pizza dough has not been kneaded for long enough, it may not have had the chance to build up a strong gluten network. When mixing your pizza dough, the flour and water create a chemical reaction that results in a build-up of gluten.

The top chefs all agree that the best pizzas are all about the crust, so salt in the dough should never be sacrificed at the altar of salty toppings. “Building a pizza is like building anything else – you have to make compromises and consider the whole when choosing the parts.

If you don't knead your dough, your baked bread won't rise as high, and the overall texture and appearance will be dense. Properly kneaded dough promises a softer, fluffier, taller, and chewier bread.

Tips For Making Pizza Dough

Plan on at least 1 1/2 hours of rise time before shaping, topping, and baking.

Under-proofed pizza dough is hard to stretch and dense. An over-proofed dough will stretch too thin and won't spring up when you put it in the oven. Warm-up your dough: Cold dough is hard to stretch and more prone to tearing. Let your dough warm up to at least room temperature before stretching for best results.

Yeast: The Essential Component

Yeast is a critical ingredient in pizza dough. It is a living organism that ferments sugar and releases carbon dioxide gas, making the dough rise. The yeast's activity creates a light, airy texture and adds flavor to the dough.

Too little yeast and your dough won't rise enough, and the pizza base will taste bland. Use too much yeast and your dough may over-ferment. Tell-tale signs are your dough expanding too much or tasting and smelling a bit sour, with an almost alcoholic aftertaste (the yeast produces alcohol as it ferments).

Flour power: Swap all-purpose flour for bread flour, which has a higher protein content (think gluten) for better structure and chew. Consider adding a small amount of whole wheat flour or rye flour for a deeper, nuttier flavor. Hydration hero: Up the water percentage by 5-10% for a softer, airier crust.

What is the key to pizza dough? ›

The five key ingredients for making the best pizza dough are flour, yeast, salt, water, and olive oil. These ingredients work together to create a dough that is perfectly textured, flavorful, and easy to work with. When making pizza dough, it's important to use high-quality ingredients and not overwork the dough.

Pizza dough loves warmth, so if you can find a way to add some extra heat, your dough will rise faster. One way to do this is to preheat your oven to the lowest setting (usually around 200 degrees Fahrenheit) and then turn it off. Place your pizza dough in the warm oven for 10-15 minutes until it begins to rise.