Description
This Chewy Artisan Pizza Dough recipe yields a perfectly crispy bottom crust with a chewy, airy texture enriched by large, blistered bubbles. Achieved through a high hydration ratio and long fermentation, this versatile dough can be prepared fresh, refrigerated for up to 2 days, or frozen for 3 months, making it ideal for both quick meals and entertaining guests. Suitable for baking on a pizza stone, baking steel, or cast iron pan, it brings pizzeria-quality crust to your home kitchen.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 500g (3 ¾ cups plus 2 tbsp) all-purpose flour
- 375g (1 ½ cups plus 2 tbsp) warm water, divided
- 1g (¼ tsp) active dry yeast
- 10g (1 ½ tsp) fine salt
Instructions
- Mix Dough: In a large bowl, combine the flour and all but 1 tablespoon of the warm water. Stir until just combined to form a shaggy dough, then cover and let it rest for 20 minutes. This autolyse step helps hydrate the flour.
- Activate Yeast: In a separate small bowl, dissolve the active dry yeast in the remaining warm water. Let it sit for a few minutes until foamy to activate the yeast.
- Combine Yeast and Salt: Sprinkle salt over the surface of the rested dough. Stir the yeast mixture into the dough and begin folding the dough gently. Wet your hands to avoid sticking and pinch and fold several times until a rough dough forms.
- First Rest: Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for 1 hour to begin fermentation.
- Develop Gluten: After the rest, wet your hands and stretch a portion of the dough, folding it over the center; rotate the bowl and repeat this folding 4-5 times until the dough forms a smooth ball. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl with the seam side down, cover, and let rise for 5-6 hours or until doubled in size for bulk fermentation.
- Shape Dough Balls: Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide it in half. Shape each piece into a tight ball by folding the edges into the center, then cupping and pulling the dough towards you to create tension. Place the balls on a greased plate, lightly oil their tops, cover, and let rest for 1 hour to relax before shaping.
- Preheat Oven: Place a pizza stone, baking steel, or inverted baking sheet on the middle rack and preheat your oven to 500°F (or the highest temperature possible). Heat for at least 45 minutes for optimal crust crispness.
- Shape and Bake: Lightly flour your work surface and flatten each dough ball into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a floured pizza peel or lightly greased cast iron pan. Add your preferred sauce and toppings, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Slide the pizza onto the preheated stone or steel and bake for 5 minutes. For an extra crispy, blistered crust, broil for an additional 2-4 minutes until golden and bubbly. If baking in a cast iron pan, bake for 15-20 minutes and then broil for a few minutes at the end for a golden, charred crust.
- Enjoy: Remove pizza carefully, slice, and enjoy your perfectly chewy artisan pizza crust!
Notes
- The high hydration makes the dough sticky; wet your hands during mixing and folding to handle it easily.
- Folding instead of kneading develops gluten gently while preserving air bubbles.
- For best flavor, ferment dough for 5-6 hours at room temperature or up to 2 days refrigerated.
- Dough can be refrigerated after shaping into balls or frozen for up to 3 months; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before use.
- Use a baking steel or stone preheated at high temperature for a professional crispy crust.
- Broiling at the end creates desirable charred bubbles and crust blisters.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes (including initial mixing and resting)
- Cook Time: 10 minutes (5 minutes baking + 2–4 minutes broiling) or 20-24 minutes (cast iron pan method)
- Category: Pizza Dough
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: artisan pizza dough, chewy pizza crust, high hydration pizza dough, homemade pizza dough, pizza dough recipe, long fermentation dough
