Roberta's Pizza Dough
The famous Roberta's pizza dough, made at home with no pizza stone and no special oven. Six simple ingredients, mixed by hand, with a slow fridge rise for big flavor. Makes two crusts.
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Baking sheet
- Clean kitchen towel
- Pizza Cutter
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup 00 pizza flour plus 1 tablespoon, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons, leveled
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup flour for kneading and dusting equal parts all-purpose and 00
Toppings (per pizza)
- 2-3 tablespoons pizza sauce
- 3 oz. mozzarella cheese freshly grated
- bell pepper cut into strips
- red onion thinly sliced
- pepperoni
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Stir the active dry yeast and olive oil into 1 cup of lukewarm water (not hot). Set aside for a few minutes.
- Spoon and level 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon of 00 pizza flour into a large bowl.
- Fluff the all-purpose flour, then measure 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons, leveling each. Add to the bowl with the sea salt and mix lightly.
- Pour in the yeast water and mix with clean hands until well combined. It will seem watery at first; keep mixing until it looks like dough.
- Let the dough rest 15 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 3 minutes, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking.
- Divide the dough in half and shape each piece into a ball.
Rise
- Cover the dough balls with a clean, damp towel. Refrigerate at least 24 hours (up to 3 to 4 days) for best flavor, or let rise on the counter 3 to 5 hours for the quick option.
Bake
- Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit on the counter about 45 minutes.
- Position one oven rack near the top and one near the bottom. Preheat the oven to 500°F.
- To freeze a dough ball: dip it in flour (half all-purpose, half 00), shake off the excess, and seal in a zip-top freezer bag.
- Dip the dough you’re baking in flour and stretch it on a baking sheet from the center out into a thin, even crust. Press the edges up slightly to form a rim.
- Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons pizza sauce over the dough. Top with about 3 ounces mozzarella and your toppings. Keep toppings light.
- Bake on the bottom rack 4 to 5 minutes.
- Move to the top rack and bake about 2 1/2 minutes.
- Switch to broil for about 1 minute, watching closely. Remove when the crust feels firm and the cheese is bubbly. Cool briefly, slice, and serve.
Notes
- Baking on a pan: If you're using a baking sheet instead of a pizza stone or the bare oven rack, give it 5 minutes on the bottom rack (or a minute or two longer than listed) for a crispier, more golden bottom.
- Stretch evenly: Uneven spots bake unevenly. Take your time getting the crust the same thickness all the way across.
- No 00 flour? All-purpose flour alone will still make a good crust.
- Mozzarella: An 8-ounce block, freshly grated, covers both pizzas with a little to spare.
- Freezing: Thaw frozen dough in the refrigerator overnight, then rest on the counter about 45 minutes before stretching.
- Recipe adapted from the Roberta's pizza dough recipe.