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Yeast Water Pizza Dough

Start the dough the night before, or 2-3 days before you plan to make pizza. The dough balls also freeze perfectly; just thaw completely in the refrigerator or room temperature then shape and bake. Keep in mind, dough rise time varies by room temperature and strength of the yeast water. I find that freshly made dried cherry water can be much faster acting than date water refreshed a month ago. But both will work. There is also a vast difference in rise time between room temp of 62-64F vs 75-80F.
SAMPLE SCHEDULE for a Saturday bake:
Start Friday early evening to make pizza on Saturday evening. If kitchen temp will be below 65F overnight, place dough in oven with the light on until oven reaches 70-75F, then turn light off and leave dough in the oven overnight.
Prep Time2 days
24hrs stand time for preferment plus 10-12 hours proof plus 8-14hrs refrigeration.1 day
Servings: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

Preferment - optional

  • 50 grams (about 3Tbsp) Yeast Water, shake before measuring
  • 50 grams (appx scant 1/2 cup) choice of flour - whole wheat, spelt, '00' pizza flour

Final Dough

  • 500 grams (4 cups) '00' flour '00' flour is more finely ground than bread flour. Bread flour will work fine. Or, if you only have all-purpose flour, just use it!
  • 240 grams (1 cup) water
  • 120 grams (1/2 cup) Yeast Water, shake before measuring
  • 8 grams salt (Kosher salt is 1-3/4tsp; Table salt is about 1-1/4tsp)
  • 1 tsp olive oil

Instructions

  • Preferment, if using: Stir together the Yeast Water and flour in a small bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature or warm place (ideally at least 72F) until doubled. Usually 12 hours. If you are not ready to make the final dough once it has doubled, refrigerate the preferment up to 48 hours. Let come to room temperature before using. It can be used cold, but may slow the final dough rising.
  • Final Dough: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, water, Yeast Water , and olive oil if using, until the flour is completely moistened. Let stand 20-30 minutes.
  • If you using, add the preferment now with the salt. Without preferment just sprinkle the salt on top and start mixing. Mix well with hands, lifting and folding the dough, and pinching across the dough into smaller pieces then folding it over itself. In 2-3 minutes the dough will start to have tension. Just be sure the preferment and salt are mixed in. See links below for mixing and shaping demos. OR, mix in stand mixer with dough hook, which is the method Brooke uses.
  • Cover the dough with a lid or plastic wrap; let rise until double. The dough should be bubbly and light.
    With Preferment: Expect 5-8 hours depending on kitchen temperature. Ideal proofing room temperature is 75-78F.
    Without Preferment: Expect 12-14 hours for dough to double.
  • Now shape into a ball before dividing. This can be done with hands or scraper by gently rounding from edges and folding over in 90 degree turns several times.
  • After shaping, divide in half for two medium size pizzas, or 4-6 pieces for individual pizzas. Make each piece into a ball by tucking around the dough with your hands and moving the dough in a circle. Use a little flour if dough is sticky. The balls do not need to be perfect.
  • Make into pizzas right away, or place on a lightly floured tray, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, several hours or up to 1 day.
    If refrigerated, allow dough to come to room temperature about 45 minutes before stretching for pizzas.
  • To bake pizzas: Heat a pizza oven, BBQ, or oven to at least 500F. A pizza stone works well in the oven. Gently stretch and pull dough to desired shape and thickness. See YouTube below for shaping. Shaping takes a little practice if you want perfectly round, but exact rounds are really not critical. Just leave a slightly thicker edge and do best you can for evenness. (You can see mine isn't evenly round but I don't mind the crispier grilled parts). If grilling on a BBQ, I use little or no flour when handling the dough balls, then generously coat dough with olive oil and place oiled side down on grates. Grill until bottom is well marked, about 3 minutes.* Or, try a silicon grilling mat *see link below for example.
  • Remove from grill and place grilled side up on a tray. Add toppings and return to grill on a slightly lower heat setting. Close grill and cook until toppings are heated through and bottom of dough is well browned, 6-10 minutes.
    *In a super heated pizza oven or on a pizza stone, there is no need to pre-grill the first side.
  • Brooke's pizza baked in her pizza oven.

Notes

How To Make Yeast Water  Downloadable pdf
YouTube by Jim Lahey shaping pizza dough for oven or wood fired oven.
King Arthur's How to Grill Pizza Demo
Grilling Mat