Perfect Pizza Dough

I have posted lots of delicious pizza recipes, but never have shared my very favorite dough recipe. Many people are intimidated by making their own dough at home, but honestly it is not that difficult to do. In my opinion, the hardest part about pizza at home is stretching out the dough and shaping it into a perfect circle. I am still working on mastering this after many homemade pizza nights. The secret is to practice the virtue of patience. If it continues to stretch back and does not take the shape you want, cover it with a towel and let it rest for 5 minutes or so.

Last year, someone had shared this recipe as their favorite so I just had to try it. It is a pretty popular one around the food blogging community, but this version has the slightest bit of sweetness from the white wine that is added in.  The end result is a crispy dough that makes the perfect base for many different toppings.

One of the most important elements of pizza making at home is a pizza stone. Ever since I invested in one it has made a huge difference. Preheating your stone is essential and you can usually stick it in the oven while you prep the pizza. Ever since I have made my own at home, we rarely get pizza for take-out. On Friday, I will be sharing a new pizza recipe. But here are some of our other absolute favorites:

Bacon, Brussel Sprout, & Goat Cheese Pizza

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

Chicken Ranch Pizza

Perfect Pizza Dough:

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
22 ounces (4 cups) bread flour
1¾ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup white wine
1½ cups water
cornmeal for dusting

What you’ll do:

In a small saucepan over medium, warm the oil and oregano until fragrant about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the water and the wine. Set aside until ready to use.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix your dry ingredients: flour, salt, sugar, and yeast, mixing them until they are combined. With the mixer on low speed, pour in the prepared liquid mixture. Continue mixing on medium-low speed until the dough comes together, and then knead on the same speed for 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add more flour or water as needed to form a dough that is sticky but does not cling to the sides of the bowl(I usually end up having to add some more flour). When the mixer is running on medium-low speed, the dough should not stick to the bottom or the sides of the bowl.

Coat a large bowl with nonstick spray. Rub your hands on the sprayed bowl to coat them with oil, then quickly form the dough into a ball. Flip to coat and place the ball of dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Either set the dough aside to rise at room temperature, which will take 1½ to 2 hours, or refrigerate it until the next day. If it’s chilled overnight, it will take about 5 hours at room temperature to warm and finish rising.

*I usually divide this dough to make two pizzas. I use my immediately and freeze the other. To freeze wrap tightly in plastic wrap (I do it twice) and store in a freezer bag. To use, transfer to a fridge the morning of use and bring to room temperature before using.

Source: The Way The Cookie Crumbles

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