How To Bake Pizza Dough For Beginners
A pizza with a perfect dough is the best tasting one. Toppings make every pizza delicious but pairing it with the beautifully crusted dough will bring your pizza experience to the next level. It makes a perfect pizza bite! Learn how to bake pizza dough in this article.
Famous Pizzas with Best Doughs
Before learning how to bake pizza dough, take a look at the famous best-tasting pizza worldwide with the best dough. Pizza is famous for originating from Italy, but some countries have developed their as delicious specialty pizzas. Here are some pizzas from different parts of the world, also known to have the best doughs.
Calzone
Calzones originated in Italy. They were sold on the streets and intended to be eaten on the go. Calzones were formed by merely folding an uncooked pizza in half before baking it. This type of pizza is made of pizza dough with typical pizza topping, but it is filled inside. Unlike regular pizza, calzone has a shaped like a semicircle. You can visualize it as shaped like that of a bigger version of an empanada, which is also a famous delicacy of Spain but with pizza toppings as fillings. Its dough is simply exceptional and delicious.
Lahma Bi Ajeen
This one is a Lebanese version of pizza. It can be made from two ingredients only - meat and the dough itself. The Lebanese translation for this pizza is literally 'meat with dough.' Unlike any other pizza, even though it doesn't have that many toppings, it is delicious and suitable for those meat lovers. The dough enhances its over-all taste. Its taste will prompt you to learn how to bake pizza dough.
Chicago Pizza
This unique pizza might be the one that breaks the traditional pizza making. It is prepared according to several styles developed in Chicago. Instead of doing a flat dough, this pizza is a structure similar to a pie. Its dough rises from its side, creating that hollow inside where the toppings are placed. It is visually appealing and tastes good. Other people call this pizza as deep-dish pizza. It is baked in a pan and has a high edge, which provides ample space for large amounts of cheese and tomato sauce with chunks. It will keep you wondering how they made such mouth-watering dough.
Steps to Bake Pizza Dough
- The first step on how to bake pizza dough is making the dough using five main ingredients, such as yeast, oil, flour, water, and a pinch of salt.
- In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients such as flour and salt. The salt will give a taste to your dough.
- Mix the yeast with water. The yeast is used to double the size of your dough. After doing that, mix it with your dry ingredients.
Gradually add the water, until you reach some consistency where you can touch the mixture. In the process, add some oil. It would help to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands while kneading it. - Suppose you reach the consistency where you can handle it. Pour flour on your work station and take the dough out of the bowl. Doing the kneading process in a countertop would help you to knead it on a broader space. After kneading it, shape it into a circle and set aside for about an hour or so.
- Check your dough and decide if you want to double its size. If not, you could leave it again for 30 minutes and come back. Portion the dough into two. Work with the first portion and using the palm of your hand pressed down to give it a flattened look. The thickness would depend on how you want your pizza. If you want a thinner pizza, use a roller or press hard on the dough with your hand.
- To avoid making bubbles in your dough, poke some holes on it using a fork. Poke different parts of the dough. This way will help prevent a dome-shaped dough.
- Finally, pre-bake the dough on a hot pizza stone or in a pizza pan for 6 minutes.
- When your dough is done, you can brush it with some olive oil before putting in your sauce and toppings and baking your entire pizza. Find out more about baking pizza dough.
Conclusion
Pizzas can be served as your favorite snack; it can also be your breakfast, lunch or dinner, or any meal that you want or as you crave for it. Pizzas may have the best appeal, inviting smell, and delicious toppings, but it’s the dough that will make a difference. Learning how to bake pizza dough is your first step in making your best-tasting and mouth-watering pizza. Enjoy the experience!
