Is It Worthwhile To Learn How To Make Pizza Dough?

With just a few simple ingredients, you’d think learning how to make pizza dough should be easy. While mixing up ingredients is uncomplicated, mastering the techniques can be challenging. Instead of a disappointing pizza crust, stop by Mario’s Pizza, where we consistently make delicious NY style pizza.

However, if you still want to give it a go yourself, we’ve listed some tips below to make the best pizza dough!

Step-by-Step Instructions On How To Make Pizza Dough

Search for pizza dough recipes on the internet, and you’ll find plenty of options. After all, pizza dough only requires 4 common ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour
• ¾ cup of warm water
• 1 package of yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon of salt

Sometimes, certain types, like NY style pizza, may require a few other substances. Adding these ingredients changes the texture and flavor:

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of sugar

Once you’ve assembled your ingredients, follow these steps to make pizza dough:

1. Pour warm water into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast, then stir to dissolve.
2. Combine the salt and flour. Pour in the yeast mixture and add the olive oil.
3. Mix, then knead until the dough forms a smooth ball.
4. Brush a larger bowl with olive oil and place the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size.
5. After rising, you’re ready to stretch the dough into shape.

Common Mistakes When Making Pizza Dough

Of course, these instructions appear easy.  However, it can take years to perfect the techniques necessary to produce pizzeria quality crust. Hydration levels, kneading, fermentation, and oven temperature will all affect your final product. Often, inexperienced home cooks make mistakes when preparing pizza:

Choosing The Wrong Flour

Pizza dough requires a high-protein flour to create the gluten structure necessary for the correct crust density. Using the wrong type of flour can result in hard-to-handle dough and inconsistent pizza crust texture.

Combining Ingredients In The Wrong Order

Mixing 4 ingredients doesn’t appear to be too difficult, but the order can affect your final product. For example, when making NY style pizza, adding oil too soon can prevent the flour from fully hydrating. This will affect the formation of gluten and your pizza crust’s texture.

Salt is another ingredient that chefs debate about adding at the proper time. This ingredient strengthens the gluten structure and affects yeast.

Adding it in the beginning causes gluten bonds and fermentation to occur slowly. Typically, this results in a longer proofing time, allowing more complex flavors to develop.

Alternatively, adding salt later in the process provides a faster rising and stronger gluten structure. This makes the dough easier to work with, more pliable, and ready to use sooner.

Over/Under Kneading The Dough

Proper kneading is essential for the perfect pizza crust. Typically, over-kneading is not a problem for the home baker, but common when using a professional mixer.

Interestingly, both over- and under-kneading result in a dense crust, but for different reasons. Under-kneading fails to allow gluten to fully form, while over-kneading overdevelops the gluten. A well-kneaded dough will be smooth and will bounce back quickly when poked with a finger.

Not Letting The Dough Proof Long Enough

Proofing allows the yeast time to consume the sugar in the flour, producing carbon dioxide and other byproducts.  This fermentation process also breaks down gluten, fills the dough with bubbles, increasing its size, and adds flavor.

Under-proofed dough is too elastic and resistant, making it challenging to stretch into a pizza shape. Comparatively, over-proofed dough produces a sticky mass prone to tearing.

Using A Rolling Pin To Shape the Dough

A rolling pin works great for a fruit pie, but not a pizza crust. That’s because rolling out the dough squeezes out all the carbon dioxide gas produced during the rising. Instead of a light, airy pizza, you’ll get a thin, cracker-like crust. If you want an airy, NY-style crust, we advise hand tossing your pizza which is an art in itself!

FAQs About How To Make Pizza

Do you have other questions about how to make pizza dough?  Below, we respond to a few questions home cooks have about making pizza pie.

Can I Use Jarred Tomato Sauce?

Some jarred sauces can contain too much water, which will turn your crust soggy. To test your sauce, scoop up some and observe how it behaves. The perfect consistency will slowly drip off and coat the spoon.

Do I Need A Pizza Stone For Crispy Pizza?

One of the reasons pizzeria pies taste so good is the high oven temperature. Commercial pizza ovens can reach temperatures up to 1000 degrees, while home ovens only reach 550 degrees. Using a pizza stone can help replicate the baking effects of a commercial oven.

Is Homemade Pizza Worth The Effort?

It’s disappointing when you’re craving delicious pizza, and you make one of the mistakes outlined earlier. Instead, opt for Mario’s Pizza, where you get delicious food every time.  Our customers’ feedback illustrates that our customers agree. Here’s what some of them say:

Despite being in such a good location, I can’t believe I’ve never been here. I stopped by on the way back from Costco to get a 10″ margherita pizza. I watched them make it. It was delicious. I’m sure I’ll be back. – Sarah C. Winston Salem

My husband and I love coming here to get two slices of the pepperoni pizza. It’s always really good and the perfect amount. The place is clean and quiet. The staff has always been friendly and helpful. I definitely recommend it. They serve cheese or pepperoni by the slice! – Jessica R. Winston Salem

Instead of trying to learn how to make pizza dough just like pizzerias, visit Mario’s Pizza. Begin your order by clicking the red or green buttons at the top of the page.