Grandpa's Pizza Dough Recipe
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Recipe Intro From lisathompson
I am recreating my Grandpa Tony’s pizza dough recipe using only a few details that my Aunt can remember. She told me he used a 5 pound bag of flour, a sleeve of yeast, a stick of butter, a palmful of salt, and to add warm water until it became a tacky dough. That’s all I got. I tinkered with it a few times and got the recipe to a place I’m really happy with. My grandpa was known in our family for his amazing cooking and baking and always making huge batches, but I don’t even think I have a bowl big enough for 5 pounds (aka 18 cups!) of flour, so I am making a smaller batch of what he made. His original recipe used butter which yields a softer, fluffier crust once it’s baked, but I prefer to use olive oil instead for a crispier crust. You can bake the dough the same day or stick it in the fridge overnight after shaping it for a more complex flavor. This recipe makes 1 large pan pizza, two medium pizzas, or about 9 mini pizzas. My grandpa also used this recipe to make sandwich rolls, or muffalette in Sicilian. This recipe yields about 9 rolls, just weigh out ~125g of dough before shaping tighly into smooth dough balls.
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ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups (644g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (5g) active dry yeast or instant yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (6g) kosher salt
- 2 1/3 plus 2 tablespoons (536g) warm water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or melted unsalted butter
Method
Step 1
Add flour, yeast, and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add in water and olive oil or butter and stir until mixture forms a shaggy dough but all of the flour has been incorporated without any dry patches. Cover with a large dinner plate, cutting board, or a clean dish towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
Step 2
Uncover dough, then perform one set of "stretch and folds", lifting up the edge of the dough and folding it in toward the center. Repeat all the way around the bowl. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes, then perform the second set of stretch and folds. Cover and let rest for another 15 minutes (this will be 45 minutes total), then perform the final set of stretch and folds for a total of 3 sets. Cover dough and let rise for 1 hour. Dough should be doubled in size.
Step 3
Flour a clean work surface and tip dough out, sprinkling with more flour as necessary. Portion dough into an amount that suits your recipe (this recipe makes 1 large pan pizza, 2 medium pizzas, or 9 mini pizzas that are ~125g of dough). Fold the edges in toward the center again, then flip dough over and work the dough into a smooth ball. This works better if you have only as much flour as you need to keep it from sticking. Cup your hands around the dough and pull it toward you to create tension and smoothness. Continue until you have a tight ball.
Step 4
Line a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and dust with flour (you may need more than one depending on how many pizzas you are making), then transfer your dough balls to the baking sheet. Cover with another baking sheet or a clean, dry dish towel and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature, if baking the same day, or store in the refrigerator for up to 36 hours. Bring cold dough to room temperature for about 2 hours before using as needed for your pizza.