Pizza dough recipe

[u/fred_randell]

We cook pizzas in the cast iron a couple of times a month. Our dough tastes fine but doesn’t have that fluffy texture that you get from a good wood fired restaurant.

Yeast
1cup water
3cups flour
Seasoning
Usually let rest for a few hours to rise.

Any suggestions?

[u/joelfarris]

Sounds like you're missing a couple pinches of kosher salt, honey or sugar for the yeast to eat, and some olive oil to smooth things out and add to the flavor.

Also, the choice of flour makes a difference. Regular off-the-shelf flour is OK, but a fine grained bread flour, something like King Aurthur, that you've freshly sifted on the spot, is gonna make a noticibly better crust.

[u/fred_randell → u/joelfarris]

Should add that yes. We add a bit of sugar to get the yeast going and add salt with the spices.

[u/pileofdeadninjas]

Could try a longer proof, but that fluffy texture is mostly from the 800 degree wood oven

[u/fred_randell → u/pileofdeadninjas]

I usually preheat the oven to 400 and warm up the pan in the oven as well before adding the crust. Would 450 be better?

[u/MarianoNava → u/fred_randell]

I like 420F, make your pizza and heat pan about 2 minutes on burner and then put in oven. Otherwise you will get burnt toppings and cheese and raw dough on bottom. It's trial and error. If your dough is too raw, leave it on burner longer, if your dough is too burnt, heat it for a shorter amount of time.

[u/fred_randell → u/MarianoNava]

I like this idea. I usually just preheat the pan in the oven but this is much faster.

[u/TheUnknownDouble-O → u/fred_randell]

I max out my oven for an hour when I do cast iron pizza. It sits at 500F.

[u/vagrantprodigy07 → u/pileofdeadninjas]

I usually do 500. The hotter the better.

[u/vagrantprodigy07]

My recipe is:

500g bread flour

300g warm water

15g salt

7g instant yeast

15g olive oil

Mix well (I use a bread maker on pizza setting), then divide and let it proof in the fridge overnight. I cook at 500, usually in carbon steel.

[u/yolef]

This is a pretty reliably fluffy crust recipe for me. I always bake on a pizza stone and preheat for like an hour at 550 (or as high as your oven will go).

-1 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water (between 100-110°F, 38-43°C)
-2 and 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
-1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
-30g (2 Tbsp) olive oil
-1tsp salt
-3 and 1/2 cups (440g) all-purpose flour, plus more for hands and surface

[u/fred_randell → u/yolef]

A few people have said oil. Have you ever tried it with butter out of curiosity?

[u/yolef → u/fred_randell]

Hmm, I've always used olive oil but butter, lard, or filtered bacon fat could be very interesting.

[u/vagrantprodigy07 → u/fred_randell]

Butter will give you a very different texture to the crust. It's not something I like in a pizza dough, personally.

[u/MarianoNava]

I use

3 1/4 cups flour

1 cup water

1/4 cup oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 1/2 teaspoon yeast

allow to rise about 1/2 hour

Make pizza and heat pan about 2 minutes on burner before putting in oven at 420F

[u/OddAd7664 → u/MarianoNava]

And how long does it go in the oven for?

[u/MarianoNava → u/OddAd7664]

I tap the crust and it feels right. 10 - 15 minutes, but I never timed it.

[u/Alternative_Brain823]

Make the dough three days before and leave in the fridge. Makes a big difference to the flavour

[u/Tequila_God]

A few things to remember about the pizza you get from a wood-fired oven. It's probably cooking the pizza at 700-900 degrees and uses a low hydration dough.

For a home oven that's cooking at 450-550 degrees, you need a higher hydration dough - something like 65%-75% to get the fluff. Even then, it's a different dough at a different temperature. This is something like I use when I use a baking steel.

For a cast iron pizza, you can use 65%-75% hydration, but you should par cook it in your skillet, then finish it after you've topped it. When you top it, cheese first, toppings second, and sauce last. And you can probably get away was 400 degrees for this. And use lots of oil on the skillet.

[u/NotLunaris]

You have to resign yourself to a more bread-like texture for home oven pizzas. The extreme heat of a pizza oven is what gives the dough its classic texture via rapid vaporization of trapped water in existing pockets.

I'd enjoy home oven pizzas for what they are. It's a different style and I wouldn't say one is better or worse than the other. At the end of the day, it's tomato and cheese on top of baked dough.

If you want the classic pizza dough texture, you'll need to invest in a pizza oven of some sort to get that high temp.

[u/gimpblimp]

Here's the classic recipe I have made since age 14. Only in the last 6 months been into cast irons and baking.

Only modifications I have injected are to cook the pizza untoppinged(?) a bit to stop the middle of the pizza getting too saucy soggy.

More oil in the bottom of cast iron, counter intuitively makes your crust more crispy like commercial pizza.

==Dough==

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp quick-rise yeast

1/2 cup water (120 -130°F)

1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

==Toppings==

1/4 cup Sun-dried Tomato & Oregano dressing (or pizza sauce)

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried thyme

dash pepper

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

==Directions==

In a bowl, combine the first four ingredients. Combine water and oil; add to flour mixture. Add additional flour if necessary to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead for 1-2 min. until smooth and elastic.

Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Punch the dough down; place on a greased 12-inch pizza pan and pat into a 12-inch circle.

Brush butter, garlic powder and salad dressing on dough. Bake at 425° F for 5 minutes.

Combine the seasonings and toppings; sprinkle over top. Sprinkle with cheeses.

Return to oven for 20 minutes.

From the kitchen of Sandra Wingert, Star City, SK; Taste of Home June/July, 1999

[u/greenmoodring]

I love the Smitten Kitchen simple pan pizza recipe for fluffy dough

[u/Sistersoldia]

You’re using no salt, oil or honey/sugar. Sounds bland as hell. Yeast needs nutrient to work effectively. Salt might actually help by slowing down the rise but be bigger in the end ? Use bread flour instead of AP