Pizza Dough

Pizza Dough can be formed into many shapes and sizes. This is my favorite since it is thin and crispy, similar to a Roman style pizza crust.

Joe’s favorite Milwaukee Pizza place

Joe grew up in Milwaukee where there is a large Italian and Sicilian population. Milwaukee has a lot of Italian themed restaurants spanning the cuisine of every region in Italy. Along with that comes a large variety of pizza. The Holy Grail (in Joe’s humble opinion) is Balistreri’s Pizza on 68th and Wells. It’s hard to make a trip back to Milwaukee without stopping there, but that’s really a story for another day. There are even a number of Italian bakeries that sell their own version of pizza dough, but this is about making it yourself.

Homemade Pizza Dough is the best

A few years ago we went to Italy and took an Italian cooking class with our friend and pizza maestro, Luigi Mercuri. He asked if we wanted to make pizza or pasta. Of course, we said both! This recipe is based on his pizza dough recipe. You can use this pizza dough the day you make it, or let it rise slowly over night in the refrigerator the way Luigi does it. (Joe and I don’t normally plan that far ahead!)

Be creative with your toppings

Nothing beats making your own fresh pizza dough and this recipe definitely hits the mark. Joe’s favorite pizza is Milwaukee Style Sausage and Onion Pizza, but you can use whatever toppings you like. If you want to make something unique and different, go ahead. You might want to try my version of Luigi’s award winning Pumpkin and Radicchio Pizza. My Zucchini Flatbread is another favorite! During our last trip to Sicily we saw pizza topped with hot dogs and French fries. Joe will be sticking with hot Italian sausage and onions, but to each their own!

Pizza Dough

Recipe by Margaret Sanfelippo

3.8 from 6 votes

Course: Main DishCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

10″ pizzas

Prep time

15

minutes

Rising Time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Baking Time

15

minutes

Total time

2

hours 

This pizza dough is thin and crispy, similar to a Roman style pizza crust. It makes 4 – 10″ round pizzas or 2 large Milwaukee style pizzas.

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cup flour

• 1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast

• 1 1/4 cup warm water

• 1 3/4 tsp salt

• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

• Add the yeast to the warm water and give it a whisk. Wait about a minute and give it another whisk. Set aside for about 5 minutes.
• Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.
• Add 1 tbsp of the olive oil to the water and yeast mixture.
• Make a well in the flour mixture. Add the water mixture and gently stir together until combined.
• Transfer the dough to your Kitchen Aid mixer. Using the dough hook, knead for 8 minutes on medium speed. (You can do this by hand if you like, but I like to let the machine do the work for me.)
• Oil a large bowl with the remaining 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Be sure to coat the ball of dough in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 1/2 hours) or for a slower rise, place overnight in the refrigerator.
• When ready to use, cut into 4 equal pieces for 4-10″ round pizzas or 2 pieces for 2 large Milwaukee style pizzas.
• Sprinkle a little flour on your kitchen counter and roll your dough as thin as possible. Place on an oiled baking sheet. Add your favorite toppings.
• Preheat your oven to 525F. Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for about 15 minutes until the bottom of the pizza is golden.

Notes

• You can make this the day you want to use it or the day ahead of time. If you are making this a day ahead of time, let the dough rise slowly in the refrigerator. This dough also freezes well.