5 ingredients you should have to make a perfect pizza dough

Posted by fa8937812 on February 25th, 2021

Pizza making is a year-round activity. To make a perfect pizza, you need a perfect dough as it is a make-or-break element to any pizza. People sometimes find it difficult to get perfect pizza dough at home. And this all happens when they incorrectly measure ingredients or don’t take the water temperature seriously. Moreover, to get a perfectly baked pizza you need an electric conveyor pizza oven. 

Here we have ingredients that you need to get the perfect pizza dough: 

1. Flour for Perfect Homemade Dough:

For homemade pizza dough, all-purpose flour is perfect. Bread flour can also be used to get a chewier texture. The flour milled from wheat contains a significant amount of gluten-forming protein and a combination of starches. And these ingredients are the building blocks for the dough. 

For the dough preparation, water is mixed with the flour and it forms elastic gluten structure. This elastic structure gives dough the ability to stretch and hold its shape. You can say, flour is the most essential or the foundation of dough. 

2. Water to Form a Gluten Structure:

The next largest ingredient you need for pizza dough is water. Water does multiple jobs. It hydrates the protein, stretches the flour, and forms a gluten structure. Moreover, it also dissolves yeast, salt, and sugar to form a mixture. 

Additionally, the temperature of the water that you are using is also very important. As it is going to affect how the dough rises, the color and flavor, and texture of the dough, everything in short. Make sure your water is between 110 and 115 Fahrenheit. Yeast is more active at this temperature and temperature more than this will be the thermal death point for yeast.

3. Olive Oil to Reduce Friction: 

You can use any cooking oil for the dough but olive oil not only tenderize the dough but also adds flavor to it. Other than adding in the dough you can brush olive oil on the top of the crust to create a golden crust. 

Oil is a fat source for the dough that acts as a lubricant and reduces the friction developed or enhances the ability to stretch out. This tenderizing in the final baked pizza will affect the bite of the crust. More oil you add means more a softer bite you will have. 

4. Sugar and Salt to Get Flavored Bread: 

These two looks quite the same and can be called twins. But both of them taste very different and also play a different role so, not use them in replacement of one another. Salt plays an important role as it boosts the flavor of the bread. Without salt, your bread will taste flat. Salt is essential not only to get flavored bread but also strengthens the dough. 

Usually, sugar is considered a sweetener but in the case of dough, it is a source of food for the yeast. Yeast releases carbon dioxide gas and consumes sugar. Carbon dioxide gas allows the dough to rise. Moreover, sugar also plays a role in crust browning. 

One of the most essential ingredients in pizza dough is yeast. Yeast produces carbon dioxide gas, alcohol, and flavor esters that increase the acidity of the dough. All these products of the yeast contribute to the texture and flavor of the baked crust. 

Yeast also makes the dough easier to shape and stretch. Different types of yeast are available in the market. You can try active dry yeast or instant yeast but instant yeast always gives the best results or the most foolproof. Instant yeast is the most widely used yeast for pizza dough having a shelf life of approximately two years when unopened.