How to prepare a pizza dough?

About: How to prepare a pizza dough?

Preparing a perfect Pizza dough is just a three-step process to follow, You need to prepare the yeast if using dry active ones, then kneading the dough, and waiting for the first rise of the dough. This is pretty easy to make and you will know how to prepare a pizza dough by using only 5 very common ingredients that you use in everyday life. And those ingredients are flour, any like plain or whole wheat, or even sprouted whole wheat flour as per your choices. The other things that you need are sugar, salt, oil, yeast ( instant or dry active yeast ), and lukewarm water. It’s a very quick and easy pizza dough recipe that could be prepared easily at any time at home. For this recipe, I am using active dry yeast and plain flour.

Ingredients needed to prepare this dough are:

Plain Flour: 3 cups (you may choose plain or whole wheat flour)

Oil: 2 tablespoon (olive oil or any)

Sugar: 1 tablespoon

Salt: 1 teaspoon

Yeast (Active-dry yeast): 1/4 teaspoon

Lukewarm water easy to touch: 1 cup and 50 ml

Some extra dry flour

Preparing the yeast:

Into a bowl add 1 cup and 50 ml of Lukewarm water. Into it then add 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and stir to dissolve the sugar and salt. Then add 1/4 teaspoon of Dry Active Yeast and keep it aside for 5 to 10 minutes. The yeast turns frothy or foamy. This step is done to activate the yeast. Sugar and salt are added to build up the environment for the yeast to quickly get activated and work faster.

Preparing the pizza dough:

Once the yeast mixture turns frothy add 1 tablespoon of olive oil or cooking oil and give it a stir, before combining it with the flour. Now pour this yeast mixture into 3 cups of plain flour or whole wheat flour and mix. For this recipe, I am using plain flour. Transfer the dough into a flat surface and start kneading it to form a soft and smooth pizza dough.

Kneading the dough:

Knead the dough using a hand or a machine. Use one tablespoon of oil while you knead the dough. For best results knead the dough thoroughly for 5 minutes. In between use oil and a little bit of dry flour to avoid sticking. Make a smooth and soft dough out of it.

Fold the dough backward. Kind of tucking the sides backward and somewhat making a smooth softball. Once done kneading on touching the dough it springs back, and this is when the dough is said perfectly done kneading. Then grease the bowl and put it in there. Brush the top with some oil as well. Cover with a food wrapper and keep it aside and wait for the rise.

Time for the rise:

Allow 2 to 3 hours to help rise the dough well. While you wait for the rise if you think it requires more time to rise allow it to do so. As per my personal experience, I sometimes feel it needs more than 2 hours to rise well. Well also sometimes I keep it for 5 hours and then use it to make my pizzas. The room temperature also plays a good role in rising the dough. The warmer environment helps it rise better.

Rising of the dough:

Between 2 to 5 hours you will see the dough has risen fully and is ready to be used. Then uncover the dough and punch 🤛 it down.

Flattening and shaping up the pizza dough:

Flatten the dough and spread it out using hands or roll it out with a roller. Place a parchment paper on top of your baking tray. Then spread out the pizza bread.

While spreading it out using hands or a roller make sure to use some oil and sprinkle some dry flour. Now once you are done with the rolling out step you are all set to spread the sauce and top it with your favorite toppings. Your pizza is all set to go into the oven and ready to be baked. Hope you enjoyed reading this post. If you try this recipe let me know your experience and how it turned out to you.

You might like to watch a full pizza recipe at https://sonalichoudhury.com/blog/pizza-with-cheese-and-cherry-tomatoes-perfect-dough-making-full-recipe/

Watch full video for a pizza with cherry tomatoes

Points to remember while preparing this pizza dough:

Activate the yeast by adding sugar and salt, into the lukewarm water (easy to touch). The water should not be too hot.

Sprinkle some dry flour and oil while you knead the dough because this will help the dough to be less sticky and moisturized.

Knead it for 5 minutes because this will help form the structure of the dough and look uniform once baked.

Brush it up with some oil on top after kneading the dough

Allow sufficient time to the dough to rise

Why it is important to knead the dough?

As the dough is kneaded, the proteins begin to become more orderly, lining up to form long chain amino acids that make the dough strong. The longer you knead the dough, the stronger it will get! As you knead the dough you are creating uniformity in the dough. You will feel it get more smooth and also more tough as you need.

Best way to knead the dough:

The best way to knead the dough is by pushing the dough downwards and forward and then back towards you on a flat surface by sprinkling some dry flour as you knead and go on the way by using some oil in between as well! because gradually this will help the dough spring back and gets less sticky and stretchy and it is ready to be used.

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