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By making pizza at home, you get so many choices and preferences to craft your pizza your way. And you can also make it as big as you want without worrying about the expenses. Homemade pizza also allows you to experiment with healthy alternatives for flour and toppings, so you can make it a guilt free treat for everybody.
The foundation of the pizza is always the dough. When the dough is right, no matter what toppings you put it will turn out amazing. Therefore, it is often suggested to let the dough rise overnight in the fridge or at room temperature. But how do you need to keep the consistency to let the dough rise? How much yeast is enough? When not using yeats, what should be used instead? And how to know if the dough is perfect? Read below to find all the answers to your questions and make the best pizza dough you've ever eaten in your life.
5 Tips For The Best Overnight Pizza Dough
1) Dough Consistency
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Normally, in order to make four medium-sized pizzas, you need one cup of water, 1/8 teaspoon dry active yeast and 350 grams of fine flour. After mixing the ingredients roughly and combining it well to form a big dough. Biga is a form of Italian Preferment which uses less water, leading to slow fermentation, firm texture and a nutty flavour. This method is preferred for overnight proofing. Let biga proof overnight for over 12 hours in room temperature or in the fridge.
2) Storing the Dough
The place you choose to store your biga yields different results. Storing in the fridge derives a savoury flavour due to the action of bacteria that creates acids. Storing at room temperature, on the other hand, makes the taste nutty and earthy. Room temperature makes the yeast grow smoothly and your biga will rise beautifully. You can choose different sorting methods based on your preferences. Try out both if you like to see the results!
3) Making Dough with Biga
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After fermenting the biga overnight, it is time for making its dough. As the biga rises perfectly, add in 222g of water, 340g flour and 18g of salt directly to the biga. Combine it well to make the dough homogenous and evenly combined. After the dough is mixed well, cover it and let it rest for 20 minutes to make sure flour hydrates completely. Start working on the dough on a floured platform. The more you knead it the smoother it gets and gluten structures start developing.
4) Resting the final dough
After making the final dough, let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours until it's doubled in size and divide it into four portions. First the dough is slightly sticky but after you knead it and rest it for 2 hours, it becomes perfectly smooth and workable. Kneading is an important part as it brings the entire characteristic shape and flexibility. After dividing the dough into portions, you need to rest it for 2 hours more to make the yeast rise a bit more. This results in the fluffy, bubbly pizzas with a chewy and crispy crust.
5) Use the portions to make pizzas
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Once the portions are risen perfectly, use it to make your pizzas. Remember to not roll it out with a rolling pin and shape it with your hands. Start with the crust then work your way inside through your knuckles. Rolling pins will not make you a crust and can lead to uneven edges. Working with hands gives you the freedom to create crust as thick as you like and the core thin. Hold the dough with knuckles on one end and let gravity stretch it. Once done, top it with your favourite toppings and bake in a preheated oven for 8 to 15 minutes.
Through these easy tips, you can make a pizza crust better than any fast food chain or restaurant at home. Load the pizza with cheeses and toppings and watch how the dough melds perfectly with the flavours without being meaty, thick and hard like a biscuit.
