Homemade pizza dough

🌾 Durum semolina, never cornmeal

The semolina I buy at the grocery store is medium durum semolina. It is not cornmeal, and the two are not interchangeable. Semolina is what gives the crust its slight crunch, so it is worth reading the package carefully before leaving the store.

🧫 Traditional active dry yeast, not instant

The difference is real. Instant yeast rises fast, but it does not allow multiple rises. Traditional active dry yeast does, and that is exactly what builds flavour. An active dry yeast pizza dough that has risen twice has a depth a rushed dough never gets. Proof it first in the warm water with the sugar, six or seven minutes, and it has to foam before you go any further.

🍞 The best flour for pizza dough, and what happens if you swap

Unbleached all-purpose is what I use, and it already delivers. Bread flour gives you more chew. 00 flour gives a softer stretch. Whichever one ends up in the bowl, the half cup of semolina stays, because that is the part doing the work on the crust.

⏱️ The longer the rise, the better the dough

Two one-hour rises already give an excellent result. But if the day allows it, let the dough rise 4 to 6 hours: the flavours develop and the crumb gets airier. That is the kind of patience you can taste.

🥣 By hand or in a stand mixer

Both work. With the dough hook, count about five minutes, until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides. Same result. I do it by hand because I like feeling the texture change under my palms, but that is a preference, not a rule.

🫒 My drizzle of oil and garlic salt before the toppings

This is the trick I now do every single time. Once the dough is stretched, I pour a thin drizzle of olive oil and spread it everywhere by hand, then sprinkle garlic salt over the whole surface, crust included. It builds an incredible base of flavour, and the crust is never bland again. Since I started doing this, I cannot go back.

🔥 Oven at maximum, short bake

I preheat the oven to 550 °F (290 °C), so all the way up, and bake 5 to 6 minutes depending on the toppings. I often finish a few seconds under the broiler to colour the cheese. That is the advantage of good dough: it bakes hot and fast. An ordinary baking sheet does the job perfectly, no stone required.

🤲 How to stretch pizza dough that fights back

If the dough comes straight out of the fridge and you try to stretch it, it will spring back every time. Let it rest at least 30 minutes at room temperature, covered without fail so the surface does not dry out. A dough that has warmed up stretches with your knuckles and stays where you put it.

🧊 Freeze in balls, thaw in the fridge

I make big batches and freeze the balls wrapped in plastic wrap. To use them, thaw in the fridge, then leave 30 minutes on the counter before stretching. Without freezing, the dough keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.

✅ What to serve with my homemade pizza dough?

It is the base for everything. I use it for my cheese and sausage pizza with grilled tomato sauce, my pizza with pesto, Grana Padano and prosciutto and my pulled pork tenderloin pizza. It takes my homemade pizza sauce straight out of the freezer. In summer it goes onto the grill for my BBQ pizza with artichoke hearts, olives and Haloumi cheese, and it also makes very good calzones and flatbreads, so a batch is never wasted.