Italian · Side · All year
Proper Pizza Dough
4.6 community
20m
Prep
0m
Cook
Easy
Level
320
kcal
The 70%-hydration, cold-fermented dough that turns a home oven pizza from cracker to leopard-spotted glory. Make Thursday, feast Saturday.
What you need
Ingredients
Servings
4
600 g
🌾 Tipo 00 Flour
or bread flour
420 ml
💧 Sparkling Water
still water, 420 g
1/2 tsp
🍞 Instant Yeast
2 1/2 tsp
🧂 Kosher Salt
1 tbsp
🫒 Olive Oil
Add all to shopping list
Mise en place
Before you start
20m
Prep
0m
Cook
20m
Total
Serves
Yield: Four 250 g dough balls
Equipment
Sheet pan
Chef's knife
Prep checklist
Tipo 00 Flouror bread flour
Sparkling Waterstill water, 420 g
4 steps
Method
1
Mix everything into a rough dough; rest 20 minutes, then knead (or fold) 5 minutes until smooth.
Learn the technique ›
2
Divide into 4 balls, oil lightly, and cold-ferment in covered containers 24–72 hours. Flavor compounds daily.
💡
The 48-hour mark is the sweet spot — complex, extensible, blistering dough.
3
Two hours before baking, bring to room temperature. Stretch by hand from the center out, leaving the rim untouched — that rim becomes the crust.
4
Bake on a screaming pizza steel or stone at your oven's maximum + broiler, 5–7 minutes per pie.
From the chef
Notes
Taste before serving and adjust salt and acid — the last 30 seconds of seasoning matter more than any single ingredient.
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Refrigerate up to 3 days.
Freezing
Depends on the vegetable — roasted things reheat better than they freeze.
Reheating
Roasted vegetables re-crisp in a 200°C oven for 6–8 minutes; mashes loosen with a splash of warm milk over low heat.
Make ahead
Blanch or par-roast ahead, then finish with high heat just before serving.
Wine pairing
Follows the main.
Beer pairing
Follows the main.
On the plate
Serve it with
Sides
·
This is the side — pick a main.
Garnish
Fresh herbs
A knob of butter
Toasted nuts or seeds
Taste map
Flavor profile
Sweet
Salty
Sour
Bitter
Umami
Heat
Per serving
Nutrition
320
kcal
10g
protein
62g
carbs
3g
fat
3g
fiber
520mg
sodium
Just for you
My notes
Keep exploring
Related recipes
Tomato & Basil Pasta
Italian · Dinner
30 min
Beginner
520 kcal
Spanish Spinach & Chickpeas
Spanish · Lunch
25 min
Beginner
380 kcal
Caprese Sandwich
Italian · Lunch
10 min
Beginner
480 kcal
Start cooking