by Ophir Lehavy Busel

Created on: March 31, 2010

I have often been intimidated at the thought of making my own pizza dough, but my husband, a very talented home cook, prefers making his own. Not only does his homemade pizza dough taste great, but he also turns it into a really fun experience.

He will often make homemade pizzas when inviting friends over to watch sports games by preparing individual, smaller pies and different types of toppings for guests to choose such as pineapple and shrimp, or onions and mushrooms, or my favorite eggplant, basil, and buffalo mozzarella. Then guests place toppings on the pie and bake. I have also seen him turn making pizzas into a fun kids activity, kneading the dough together, rolling it out, and then placing the sauce and toppings on the pie.

As I have watched him create these fun pizza making activities, I not only began to realize why he prefers making pizza dough, but I also wanted to learn what makes his pizza taste so good! I sat down with him one morning to learn all of his tricks, and he agreed to let me share them with you!

FIRST TRICK: INGREDIENTS

Pizza dough consists of five basic ingredients: flour, yeast, sugar, salt, olive oil, and water. Quality ingredients create quality food so choose your products with that in mind. Also, the key to making great pizza dough is making sure that the water is lukewarm, around 105° to 115° Fahrenheit. If the water is too hot or too cold, the dough cannot rise properly. Use the following quantities for a 12-inch pizza.

3 cups all-purpose flour and extra flour for kneading

1.5 tsp. active dry yeast

2 tsp. sugar

1.5 tsp. kosher salt

3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 cup lukewarm water

TWO: CHOOSE YOUR MEDIUM

You can make pizza dough using a stand mixer or by hand. Mixers create small air pockets when the dough is kneaded resulting in a pizza crust with a fine texture. Mixers can be expensive though, and with some patience, you can create great tasting pizza dough by hand as well.

THREE: MIXING AND KNEADING

PIZZA DOUGH BY HAND

Mix dry and liquid ingredients separately when making pizza dough by hand. Create a small hill with the flour mixture on your counter top, and then dig a small well in the middle. Pour the liquid into the well, and using your hands, bring the flour from the edge of the hill to the center in a circular motion a little at a time to form a ball. Next, knead the pizza dough on a floured surface for about five to seven minutes until the dough is smooth. Add a little flour occasionally

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