Having a homemade pizza dough recipe in you repertoire should be a must, cause I promise that working with doughs isn’t necessarily complicated. The recipe I am sharing today precisely is a Quick and Easy Homemade Pizza Dough, which on top of being full proof is super versatile. You can use this pizza dough as a base for flat bread or focaccia even!
I don’t think I had ever been requested a recipe so many times. My Potato Pizza with Burrata and Truffle triggered at least 100 requests for me to share the dough recipe on TikTok, so you can imagine how happy I was! And finally, since your wishes are my command, here you have the recipe.
This is a quick and easy homemade pizza dough, and I have to say that it’s as quick as it can be cause we can’t really skip the proofing time. It’s the pizza dough I’d make for the days when I decide last minute that I want to have pizza for lunch or dinner. Otherwise, as I mentioned on the Potato Pizza with Burrata and Truffle post, I’d use the recipe for Neapolitan Pizza by La Hogazana or the No-Knead Pizza Dough by Esbieta, which require longer proofing times in the fridge.
The Key of this Homemade Pizza Dough
Although this dough is prepared in the blink of an eye, it doesn’t skimp on flavour and that’s because… It calls for a special ingredient: beer. Instead of using water to hydrate the flour, we use beer, which provides a more long-fermented-dough flavour without needing so much time.
On the other hand, the beer also makes the dough softer and fluffier than if we were to make the classic Neapolitan pizza dough, for example. In other words, if we don’t stretch it very, very, very thin, when it rises in the oven it gets a more doughy and bready texture to somehow describe it (in any case, the thickness of the unbaked dough really influences the final result).
Two for One: You Can Also Make Focaccia
The recipe quantities make 2 pizzas, so when I filmed the short video for the Potato Pizza with Burrata and Truffle I decided that I was going to experiment with the leftover dough (cause I had only used one portion) to see if I could give it another use and…. Eureka! I managed to make a decent Focaccia from it.
It’s a much faster Focaccia and a little denser than my Easy No-Knead Homemade Focaccia, but the result is quite surprising. The biggest difference between the two recipes is that this quick version is better eaten recently baked. As it gets cold, it’s not as good and it doesn’t really last well until the next day (the perks of taking shortcuts :P). But if you’re in a rush because there are guests around and you happen to have some of this dough hanging around in the fridge, be assured that everybody will like it!
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I get a crispy pizza?
For me there are 3 factors during baking:
- Firstly, there’s oven temperature – the higher, the crispier the result. I always bake my pizzas at the highest temperature of my oven (around 250ºC).
- Secondly, the position of the pizza in the oven also influences. Baking it in the lower third ensures a crispier base and if we later see that the top isn’t brown enough, we can move the pizza to the upper third.
- Finally, using a baking stone or baking steel works so well – and if we don’t have one, the metallic black tray that generally comes with the oven also works as an alternative. What we’ll have to do is preheat the oven with it inside and then slide the pizza on top of it.
How thinly we stretch the dough also impacts the crispiness result. The thinner it is, the crispier it’ll turn out.
Why isn’t the dough rising?
The yeast you used is most likely to be dead. Yeast is a living organism (a fungus), so it only works if it’s active. How to know? Whether it’s dry or fresh yeast, you can mix it first with a glass of water (removing that amount of water from the recipe, in this case reduce the amount of beer), two tablespoons of flour (removing that amount from the recipe) and sugar. If after 10 minutes you see bubbles, everything is fine, if nothing appears, it’s probably not active and must be discarded.
Another reason may be the room temperature. If it’s very cold in your kitchen, after the rising times indicated in the recipe, you could experience that the dough has hardly risen at all. In this case, I recommend the following options. Option 1: turn on the oven at minimum temperature (when only the light is on, which would be about 20ºC-30ºC) and put the dough inside. Option 2: heat water until it almost boils, pour it into a heatproof bowl that is smaller than the bowl containing the dough, and place the bowl with the dough on top.
Which beer can I use?
You can use the one you like the most, but for me it works best with lager, pilsner or pale ale varieties.
Can I make the dough further ahead?
Yes! You can prepare the dough up to 3 days ahead and leave it in the fridge. When you are going to use it, take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes earlier so that it can come to room temperature.
In addition, you can freeze the dough once it has proofed. I recommend that you freeze it in portions. Then when you are going to use it, thaw it in the fridge the day before and finally take it out to come to room temperature before using it.
By the way! Here you have some more tips for making perfect homemade pizza.
More Amazing Bread Recipes. Easy and Doable
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and rate it. Hearing from you is everything! Oh, and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram, I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
Easy Homemade Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 500 g plain flour - plus extra as needed
- 5 g dry yeast - or 15 g fresh yeast
- 2 tsp salt - plus extra for topping
- 330 ml beer
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Spices - as a topping
Instructions
Prepare the dough
- In a large bowl, mix the flour with the yeast, salt, beer and olive oil until integrated. Knead it in the bowl until the dough is less sticky. If necessary, add more flour, one tablespoon at a time, the dough should be smooth, but not dry or heavy (if in doubt, do not add more flour, it is better it is sticky and a bit wet than too dry).
- Cover the bowl and let the dough double in size for 1h30min to 2h. The room temperature influences the rising time. If it is too cold in your kitchen you can place the dough in the oven with the light on (it will be at about 20ºC-30ºC). Or you can also heat water until it almost boils, pour it into a heat-resistant bowl that is smaller than the bowl where you have the pizza dough, and then place the bowl with the dough on top of the one with the hot water.
Use as a Pizza Base
- Preheat the oven to its highest temperature (mine reaches 250°C) and place a baking stone or steel inside, or else a regular baking tray.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and use half as directed by the pizza recipe you are going to make.
Use as Flatbread
- Preheat the oven at its highest temperature (mine reaches 250°C) and place a baking stone or steel in it, or else a regular baking tray.
- Stretch the pizza dough on a floured surface or directly onto floured parchment paper. If the dough shrinks, let it rest for about 5 minutes. The edges can be a bit thick, but make sure the center of the dough is thin. If you had stretched the dough on the countertop, transfer it onto parchment paper.
- Drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle your favourite herbs or seasoning.
- Slide the pizza with the parchment paper onto the preheated stone, steel or tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden (see notes) and enjoy it.
Use as Focaccia
- For 1 portion of dough (the recipe makes 2). Generously grease a 20×20 cm tin (or a round one with a 20 cm diametre) with olive oil and place the dough in it. Stretch it gently so that it reaches the sides of the tin. If it resists, let it rest for about 5 minutes.
- Cover the tin and let the dough rest at room temperature for another hour.
- Preheat the oven at its highest temperature (mine reaches 250°C). Before placing the focaccia in the oven, drizzle it with olive oil and gently press the entire surface with the tips of your fingers, making dimples. Sprinkle with salt and your favourite spices or herbs.
- Decrease the oven temperature to 230ºC and bake the focaccia for 25 to 35 minutes. It should look golden on top.
- Remove from the oven, unmold and let it cool on a rack. Enjoy!
Notes
- Baking it in the lower third ensures a crispier base and if we later see that the top isn’t brown enough, we can move the pizza to the upper third for 1 to 2 minutes. I personally prefer to bake it in the centre rack so I don’t need to keep a close eye on it while it bakes. Baking it in the bottom third and then bringing it up under the grill requires a bit more attention to not over crisp or burn it. I especially prefer the centre rack when I make plain dough to use as flatbread for dipping.
- You can prepare the dough up to 3 days ahead and leave it in the fridge. When you are going to use it, take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes earlier so that it can come to room temperature.
- In addition, you can freeze the dough once it has proofed. I recommend that you freeze it in portions. Then, when you are ready to use it, thaw it in the fridge the day before and finally take it out to come to room temperature before using it.
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @paulasapron on Instagram and hashtag it #paulasapron.