Catfish Out of Water

I've been in the pizza mood and I actually managed to think about it two days ahead of time, so I thought that I'd start a batch and then save myself the trouble of tossing together a whole meal this weekend. I ended up making Pizza w/ Pinto Beans, Mexican Rice, & Roasted Potatoes with this batch. Although you can mix and match your own favorite toppings. This is a great recipe to make for a party or barbecue. I've done pizza where everyone brings some ingredients for a potluck and everyone creates their own little pizzas. So, don't be afraid to have fun with it. Pizza is one of the simpler recipes out there that looks much more impressive than it is difficult to make!

Adapting Pizza Dough Recipes at Home

This dough recipe is adapted from King Arthur Baking's Grilled Pizza. Although I'm trying to make a better at-home pizza recipe with all-purpose flour, so I've adapted this quite a bit. A weird secret about restaurants is that they don't actually use 00 flour. This is more of a marketing gimmick. Restaurants actually use bleached, bromated, high-gluten flour. It's actually the gluten content and not the fineness of the flour that's most important.

Double zero is just flour that's been milled very finely. I actually have a grain mill and can do this at home with any flour. It's not worth the price point to just make it slightly more powdery when it comes to pizza dough. It doesn't change the structural integrity of the dough whatsoever. Just use all-purpose flour. It's the same thing, just indistinguishably more coarse.

Gallery

This dough didn't quite proof right. It looks like it over proofed and then fell. It was a particularly hot day when I started the dough and it could have sat out in the heat a little bit too long before I put it in the fridge. My yeast also could be dying. I made 2 more pizza doughs in the next couple of weeks. One was perfect. One wasn't quite so great. I think that I'm going to add more gluten in the next recipe. I don't know any restaurants that use a 00 or other gimmicky flour. I know a lot of restaurants that use a high-gluten flour, though.

Variations of All-purpose Flour Pizza Dough

I make plenty of different types of pizza dough, from barbecue to deep dish. I also just toss some leftovers into pizza sometimes and end up with something absolutely delicious! Like yes, pinto bean, rice, and potato pie. Which I highly recommend.

Barbecue Pizza Dough w/ Whole Wheat Flour

Pizza w/ Pinto Beans, Mexican Rice, & Roasted Potatoes

Deep Dish Pizza Dough w/ Butter & AP Flour

Pizza Dough w/ All-purpose Flour

This quick and easy All-purpose Flour Pizza Dough consists of warm water, yeast, honey, all-purpose flour, salt, and olive oil.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Rise Time 2 days d

Total Time 2 days d 35 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 2 pizzas

Equipment

• Large Bowl
• Oven
• Griddle (optional)
• Rolling Pin
• Pizza Peel (or Large Cutting Board)

Ingredients

  

• 320 ml. warm water ~100°F (1⅓ c.)
• 7 g. instant yeast (2 ¼ tsp. or 1 package)
• 13 g. honey (or 1 tbsp. granulated sugar, maple syrup, or brown sugar)
• 450 g. all-purpose flour (3½ c.)
• 30 ml. olive oil (2 tbsp.)
• 6 g. salt (1 tsp.)

Instructions

 

Proof Dough

• Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let rest for 15 minutes, or until the yeast begins to bubble.
• Meanwhile, whisk together whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt in a large bowl.
• After the yeast has proofed, stir yeast mixture into the flour. Mix until roughly incorporated and the dough has a shaggy appearance.
• Add in the olive oil and mix until all of the ingredients are combined.

  In a mixer with a dough hook attachment, this only takes a minute or two. By hand, this takes about 5 minutes. It's a no-knead bread recipe, so you're not necessarily looking for soft and pliable dough. Really, you just want all of the ingredients to be mixed thoroughly at this point! Which does make it a great recipe to make by hand if you prefer or don't have a mixer.
• Cover dough and let proof for 6 hours, or until doubled in size.

  Alternatively, place in the refrigerator for 1-3 days.

  A quick pizza dough proof can be done in about 6 hours. Ideally, the dough is made 2 days ahead of time and proofed in the refrigerator for that time. However, I almost never know that I'm going to make pizza 2 days ahead of time! And 6 hours is perfectly adequate.

Cook Dough

• Preheat the griddle (optional) in the oven to 550 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.
• Divide the dough in half. Lightly flour a large, flat surface and roll out each dough until roughly 1/4 inch thick.

  I like to do this on a pizza peel because they're relatively large and mobile. Any cutting board or flat surface that is mobile helps. Otherwise, you can roll out the dough on your countertop, lightly flour a plate, and transport it that way.
• Carefully pick up the dough and drop it onto the griddle.

  There is no great way to do this. If you have a pizza peel, you can tilt the peel at about a 30 degree angle and shimmy it slightly as you pull the peel out from under the dough. For anyone who's never done this before, it's easier said than done! And dough is not forgiving at this stage. If it doesn't slide onto the grill smoothly, you really only had one shot at it!

  So, I suggest getting both of your hands under the dough with your fingers outstretched, holding it in as much of a flat, round shape as possible. Letting it hover just above the grill and then gently, but swiftly, pulling both of your hands out to the right and left side at the same time.

  This sounds complicated, but you're really just doing your best to plop the dough evenly on the grill! You don't want it rolling under itself, stretching into oblong shapes, or slipping between the grates. Do whatever method helps you achieve this.
• Cook until the dough just begins to rise. This takes about 3-5 minutes in the oven.

Make Pizzas

• Top the pizza however you want. I made Pizza w/ Pinto Beans, Mexican Rice, & Roasted Potatoes out of this recipe. Although feel free to mix and match to taste or what you have on hand.
• To cook, place back in the oven and cook another 6-10 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

This dough recipe is adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction's Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe for Beginners.