Create mouthwatering pizza at home with this adapted recipe from Wolfgang Puck. The dough for this traditional style crust is quick and easy to work with, just add your favorite toppings. It’s perfect for pizza lovers of all levels.
Proofing the dough
Use the poke test to check if the dough is ready to bake. Using your index finger, poke the dough in about 3/4 of an inch. If the indent springs back slowly it’s proofed and is ready to bake. If it pops back up quickly, give it some more time. This video from American Test Kitchen will explain it further
Top 10 pizza toppings:
Pepperoni
- Banana Peppers
- Black Olives
- Extra Cheese
- Green Peppers
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Pineapple
- Sausage
- Spinach
Tips
Pizza Stone: The stone will be hot! Do not try to remove a hot stone from the oven.
Baking Sheet: If you don’t have a pizza stone use a baking sheet instead.
Freeze the Dough: You can freeze the dough for latter use. Oil the dough, wrap in plastic wrap then place the wrapped dough into a zip-lock bag. Best if used within 3 months.
Try our other recipes:
Wolfgang Puck’s Recipe for Pizza Dough
Equipment
- mixing bowl, pizza stone or sheet pan
Ingredients
- 1 package active dry or fresh yeast
- 1 teaspoon honey or sugar
- 1 cup warm water (105 to 115 °F)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
Making the Dough
- In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and honey in the 1/4 cup of warm water. (105-115 °F). Let rest for 10 minutes.
- Either in a mixer with a dough hook or in a food process fitted with a steel blade. Combine the flour and the salt.
- Add the oil, yeast mixture and the remaining 3/4 cup of water then knead/mix at low speed until the dough forms a ball and is coming away from the sides. About 5 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead by hand 2-3 minutes more. The dough should be smooth and firm.
- Place dough into a greased bowl, cover and let sit in a warm place for about 30 minutes. The easiest way to tell if the dough has risen long enough is to to the gently press your finger into the top of the dough. If it springs back quickly, it is under proofed it it springs back slowly it's ready. (watch the video above)
Once the dough has been proofed
- Divide the dough into 4 equal sized balls. Place the pizza stone on the middle rack of the oven. Preheat to 450 °F
- Work each portion of the cut dough into round balls, by pulling down the sides of the dough and tucking under the ball. Do this with each piece. Then on a smooth, non-floured surface, with a ball of dough in each hand, roll in a circular motion with your palms, fingers curved under, until the top is smooth and firm, then repeat with the remainder of the doughCover the dough with a towel and let rise in a warm place another 15-20 minutes. At this point, the dough balls can be stored in plastic wrap in the refrigerator up to 2 days….works great to have on hand for a planned make-ahead meal.
To prepare each pizza
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and start to stretch and press the dough into a 8-inch circle, the outer edge should be just a little thicker to form a nice crust around the finished edge of the pizza.
- Lightly brush the dough with olive oil then arrange your toppings of choice. Using a baker's peel or a rimless baking sheet, slide the pizza onto the hot baking stone and bake until the pizza crust is nicely browned. About 10-14 minutes.
- Transfer the pizza to a cutting board and slice into pieces.
