- I'm gonna show you how
to make a quick and easy pizza dough.
This is done in just two hours
from the time you start craving your pizza
and it's so easy. (bright music)
Most of it's just rising time, but it forms
the best soft and chewy crust, and I'm craving pizza.
So let's get started.
(bright music continues)
Start with warm filtered water
that's about 110 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
Make sure it's not too hot or you'll kill your yeast.
Add that to a large mixing bowl and stir in some honey.
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Now, sprinkle in your yeast and stir to combine.
You're gonna let that sit for about five to 10 minutes
or until you see a foamy layer form at the top.
It's important to check the yeast
to make sure it's still active and working.
Otherwise, your dough won't rise.
Once we see that bubbling action,
add some extra-virgin olive oil,
some bread flour, and salt. (bright music continues)
I love using bread flour for pizza dough
because it creates a nice chewy texture
because it has more protein.
But if you don't have that,
you can substitute with all-purpose flour.
Stir that with a wooden spoon
until the dough comes together.
Then transfer it to a clean work surface.
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Dust the dough with flour
and you're gonna knead that for about five minutes.
If the dough seems too sticky to knead,
continue adding a little bit more flour.
You want the dough to be moist and tacky
and sticky to the touch
but it shouldn't stick to your fingertips or the counter.
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You want a well hydrated dough
so make sure you don't add too much flour and dry it out.
Also, keep in mind the dough will naturally get less sticky
as you knead. (bright music continues)
You should end up with a soft and smooth pizza dough.
Oil a large mixing bowl with some extra-virgin olive oil.
Place the ball of dough into the bowl
and turn to coat in oil.
Cover that with a sheet of plastic wrap.
At this point, you can either refrigerate it for a few days
if you're making the dough ahead of time,
or let it rise for an hour to an hour and a half
or until doubled in size. (bright music continues)
The timing will depend on how warm your room is
since dough will rise faster in a warmer environment.
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While the dough's rising,
we have time to make our pizza sauce and toppings.
Now I have two recipes for sauce.
I have a red sauce, which is super easy,
comes together in a blender.
I'll leave a link to the recipe on my blog
and I have our family's favorite white pizza sauce
and that's the one we're gonna make today.
So while that rises,
I'm gonna get the ingredients for the sauce.
Place a small saucepan over medium heat
and melt in your butter.
Add flour and whisk for one to two minutes,
making sure you don't let your mixture brown.
While whisking constantly, slowly add your milk.
Continue whisking until it's smooth, thickened, and bubbly.
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Season that with salt and some freshly cracked black pepper.
Then, press in some garlic. (bright music continues)
Adding the garlic towards the end of cooking
adds some really great garlic flavor to your sauce.
Whisk that together, (bright music continues)
then add your Parmesan cheese.
Cook that for about 30 seconds,
then take it off the heat and continue whisking
until the cheese is fully incorporated in the sauce,
and the sauce is smooth. (bright music continues)
Keep in mind it does thicken more as it cools
so set it aside to cool.
Also grate your mozzarella cheese
and prep whatever toppings you want.
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About 30 minutes before you're ready to form your pizza,
get your oven ready.
With the pizza stone in the center of your oven,
preheat to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
I like using an oven thermometer to let me know
when the oven is preheated,
and I will link to this
and our favorite pizza tools in the recipe notes.
All right, our oven is preheated
and our dough has puffed beautifully.
It's definitely doubled in size.
Now I've found the easiest way
to transfer and work with pizza dough
is over a large sheet of parchment paper.
This does make a large 14-inch pizza dough
so just make sure your parchment paper is big enough.
Start by rolling the pizza dough carefully
over the back of your knuckles,
then set it down on your parchment paper
and gently stretch to a 14-inch round.
It doesn't have to be perfect.
I do like to keep a thicker edge for a nicer crust.
Now if you wanna make two smaller sized pizzas
you can divide the dough before letting it rise
and just put it into two separate oiled bowls.
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Now it's time to add the sauce,
and it's cooled enough where we can add it
and you can see it's thickened as well.
Spread your pizza sauce all over your pizza dough,
except for the crust. (bright music continues)
The easiest way to do this is just
to dot the top with sauce,
then spread it out with the back of a spoon.
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Now, generously add your shredded mozzarella cheese.
And because we are cheese lovers in our family,
I found the golden ratio
for a 14-inch pizza is 12 ounces of mozzarella cheese.
(bright music continues)
We're gonna keep it simple
and just add some great pepperoni slices over the top
but you can add whatever toppings you love.
My favorite is freshly sliced tomatoes, olives.
You can add artichoke. (bright music continues)
Really feel free to make it your own.
And let me know in the comments
what are your favorite toppings for pizza.
Here's another tip.
Make sure you trim away the excess parchment paper
around your pizza.
It's a pretty hot oven
and you don't want the parchment paper to burn.
Use a pizza peel or the back of a cookie sheet
to transfer the pizza to your hot preheated pizza stone.
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Bake at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 13 minutes
or until your crust is golden brown.
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Oh my goodness (laughs).
I literally cannot wait to dig into this.
And while it's hot and fresh and cheesy and gooey,
we're gonna slice it up and serve.
So let's do this. (bright music continues)
Oh yeah, little bit of cheese pull there.
That is the best. (bright music continues)
All right, I'm just gonna dig right into this.
Also, this pairs really, really well
with our homemade ranch.
If you haven't tried that, my kids love it.
It's like restaurant ranch.
You know what I'm talking about?
But okay, I'm gonna dig right in.
And just look at this crust. (bright music continues)
I love that it's like soft and chewy on the outside
and just like perfectly baked on the bottom.
You see that?
And then just cheesy perfection.
I love that it's a thin crust right there,
a thicker crust right there.
The perfect quick and easy pizza dough.
Make it once and you'll make it over and over.
Right now, I'm gonna eat this
'cause I am so hungry for pizza.
Craving satisfied.
(bright music continues)
Oh!
Mm! Mm!
(bright music continues)
That is a good pizza crust. Wow.
And the white pizza sauce, literally my favorite.
But really, this crust goes with any pizza sauce.
The crust is also really great
for make ahead if you wanted to.
It keeps really well in the fridge or the freezer.
Check out the links below for instructions on that.
Also, if you're looking for like a Napoleon...
No, Neapolitan style,
you know where they've got those big airy bubbles
in the crust, we do have a recipe for that.
That one requires a little bit more thinking ahead
because it's an overnight cold fermentation dough.
Also easy, just takes a little bit more time.
But this, if you're craving pizza,
literally it's gonna be on the dinner table
within a couple hours. (bright music continues)
This is our favorite quick pizza dough.
I hope you guys love it.
Also, let me know where in the video, you spotted Sharky.
And ta-da!
Our new cookbook is finally available for order.
I will leave a link to this in the notes.
All right, I'm gonna go eat my pizza
and we'll see you on the next episode of Natasha's Kitchen.
(bright music continues)
Mm!
Oh! Mm!
Action!
And voila,
the cheese pull
It's kind of sneaky it's,
but it's what you gotta do 'cause the cheese pull sells.