Italian Pizza Dough

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Ahhh pizza, my favorite food group! I have been on a mission to recreate the amazingly awesome pizza crust at The Lincoln Wine Bar in Mt. Vernon, Iowa for over a year now. In my defense, I did move, go through a brutal divorce, and nurse a sick dog back to health while trying to perfect my pizza making skills. So here it is, Italian Pizza Dough using traditional tipo “00” flour…..

I know, it just looks like pizza dough…but the texture and flavor of Italian Pizza Dough are completely different…trust me. 😉 Go ahead and leave your bread maker in the cabinet, you aren’t going to need it this time. We are making this dough by hand.

I had originally planned on using my stand mixer, but I was unable to find the dough hook! Go ahead and give it a try if you like, I will update the recipe once I find it.

Pour water into a large bowl and sprinkle with yeast. Stir to combine…..

Add the flour and salt, stir to combine…..

Let dough rest for 10 minutes to absorb the water, and stir again until smooth. If dough is too sticky, sprinkle with small amounts of flour and stir just until it is no longer sticky.

**This dough is very soft and still on the moist side. Do not over mix and/or add too much additional flour**

Shape dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl, flip dough to the other side, and cover with a towel…..

Let dough rise in a draft free, warm location until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch the dough down and push down to remove the air bubbles…..

Shape into a ball and divide dough into 4 to 5 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball…..

Place dough balls on a baking sheet and dust with flour. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rest for one hour to become soft and elastic…..

 I was distracted and used plastic wrap instead of a towel, and the dough stuck to the wrap. 🙁  Do as I say, not as I do!!

***To achieve the ideal texture and to develop more flavor, cover dough balls with plastic wrap and chill overnight.*** Remove from refrigerator at least one hour before baking to bring them back to room temperature.

Stretch out dough on a floured work surface into a large circle {no larger than 14″}. Use your hands, not a rolling pin and press until thin…that’s the traditional Italian way.

Place dough circle onto a cornmeal covered pizza peel {or backside of a flat cookie sheet} and top with your favorite toppings…..

Bake in a 500 degree oven or gas grill. Cooking times will vary by the toppings used and the final thickness of your crust.

This is my finished Grilled Pizza Margherita…..

Notes:

• The crust on my finished pizza is very light because I ran out of gas and could not keep the temperature high enough, lol
• You can see how puffy it is, I needed to get the dough a bit thinner {.11 thickness}. I think it needed to warm up a bit more…next time!
• If you are chilling your pizza dough, you can also place each ball of dough in a plastic container instead of using a baking sheet.
• I used Antimo Caputo Chef’s “00” Flour {Amazon link}

So what’s the big deal about the Tipo “00” flour? Italian “type” 00 flour has a higher protein level {12%} and gluten content. They label their flour in Italy by grind, not by protein or gluten content like we do here in the US. Tipo”00″ is the finest grind of flour that is perfect for pizza, pasta, and breads. There are still several different categories within the type “00”, but this Animo Caputo is the most recommended one around for pizzas.

You will obviously not be able to get the exact same Italian pizza with blackened crust, and within 90 seconds without a pizza oven. Pizza ovens reach temperatures of 900 degrees!! If you are lucky enough to have a Weber charcoal grill with the Kettle Pizza Deluxe insert you will get pretty darn close…and I am totally jealous! 😉

This Greens Pizza is the pizza that started this adventure, you should really give it a try…..

Well I know what I’m making for dinner tomorrow, lol. Have you ever made a traditional Italian Pizza Dough before?

Enjoy!!

Italian Pizza Dough

A traditional Italian Pizza Dough recipe using tipo "00" Pizzeria Flour for a light and airy crust with a crispy exterior for the ultimate pizza experience.

4 from 6 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

Servings: 6 Servings

Calories: 437kcal

Author: Lisa Johnson

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cup warm water 110 to 115 degrees
• 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 4 cups Tipo "00" Flour
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt

Instructions

• Pour water into a large bowl and sprinkle with yeast. Stir to combine.
• Add the flour and salt, stir to combine.
• Let dough rest for 10 minutes to absorb the water, and stir again until smooth. If dough is too sticky, sprinkle with small amounts of flour and stir just until it is no longer sticky.
• **This dough is very soft and still on the moist side. Do not over mix and/or add too much additional flour**
• Shape dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl, flip dough to the other side, and cover with a towel.
• Let dough rise in a draft free, warm location until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch the dough down and push down to remove the air bubbles.
• Shape into a ball and divide dough into 4 to 5 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
• Place dough balls on a baking sheet and dust with flour. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rest for one hour to become soft and elastic.
• ***To achieve the ideal texture and to develop more flavor, cover dough balls with plastic wrap and chill overnight.*** Remove from refrigerator at least one hour before baking to bring them back to room temperature.
• Stretch out dough on a floured work surface into a large circle {no larger than 14″}. Use your hands, not a rolling pin and press until thin…that’s the traditional Italian way.
• Place dough circle onto a cornmeal covered pizza peel {or backside of a flat cookie sheet} and top with your favorite toppings.
• Bake in a 500 degree oven or gas grill. Cooking times will vary by the toppings used and the final thickness of your crust.

Nutrition

Calories: 437kcal | Carbohydrates: 91g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 3g | Sodium: 781mg | Potassium: 561mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 4.5mg

This recipe will be partying at these link parties!