DK Learns to Cook: Cold Ferment Pizza Dough

Firstly welcome to my first post, hopefully this is the first of many to come! This first entry is about my experiences of making pizza so far. Prior to this, I have made pizza before, however they did not turn out as what I hoped. It was far from the restaurant-style pizza we all aim for. Below is one such photo from before:

The dough was bread-y and hard, and the pizza itself was wet and soggy, the cheese was oily, and there was not much of a crust. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I make it out to be, but there are certainly a lot to improve on. One time I accidentally left a pizza in the over longer than I planned, but it actually turned out better than my normal ones, as you can see from the picture.

Although better than previously, it still didn't quite hit the mark. Therefore after a bit of research, I came across a few tips which I found useful.

Cold ferment the dough for a few days. (previously I proofed the dough on the day)
To stretch the dough by hand. (Previously I used a rolling pin)
Avoid using uncooked ingredients for toppings
Less is MORE. Too much toppings will ruin the pizza.
To use the highest oven temperature
To preheat the cooking tray, no need for baking paper

Preparing the dough (recipe at end of page below)

Firstly, plan ahead and make the dough a few days before. But giving the dough a slow ferment over a longer period of time produces a more flavourful and light base and crust. I did not expect it, but this method vastly improved the dough. I made the dough Friday night and baked the pizza Sunday lunch, which gave it approximately 60 hours to ferment. I have read that around 4 days of cold fermenting in the fridge gives the best result, but I could not tell the difference between 60 hours and 3 days cold ferment.

I used semolina in this recipe, but if you do not have it, you can just use all flour instead. Firstly mix the flour, semolina, salt, yeast, sugar and water and oregano (optional) in a stand mixer with the hook attachment until no dry flour remains at the side of the bowl. Then rest the dough for 10 minutes. After that, knead on low speed for 10 minutes. Cover immediately and store in the fridge for a few days.

After nearly two days in the fridge, the dough should rise more than two times the original volume.

Divide the dough into four portions. (I only used half of the total dough) Cover and set aside for two hours in room temperature. While the dough is rising, use this time to prepare your toppings.

Some of the toppings I used:

Cheese: I like using a pizza blend cheese mix which contains cheddar, mozzarella and Parmesan. I find that using the blend gives a good taste and is also not oily when cooked. I also use some extra grated parmesan cheese for extra flavour.

Sauce: I usually use pasta sauces, which saved me time making my own tomato paste. (Maybe I'll try making my own sauce when I have more time.) Make sure the sauce is nice and thick and not too runny. I simmered the sauce for 20min to thicken.

Grilled Capsicum - drizzle with olive oil and salt and grill until peel is charred, then peel skin off
Grilled mushrooms from the deli
Chorizo, sliced
Feta cheese
Pickled Peppers
Beef Mince - fry beef mince and season
Potato - boiled and thinly sliced, then mix with rosemary, salt and olive oil

The dough should rise roughly two times the volume after two hours. When the two hours is nearly up, preheat the oven to the highest possible setting.

Next, watch this video, as it goes through how to stretch pizza dough. It was hard for me, but he makes it look so easy!

This was my first attempt, which the centre was a little overstretched. The oven should now be preheated. Place the dough on a spare tray dusted with flour. (the below picture I did not put on a tray, which made it extremely hard to transfer it onto the hot tray) Make sure you work quickly with the toppings, otherwise the dough will stick to the tray.

Firstly spread a thin layer of sauce, then top with a later of cheese. Then add the toppings. When topping the pizza, always remember LESS is MORE. I usually put on maximum 4 toppings so that each of them can be easily recognized. Too much topping, and too much cheese covering the topping will lead to a soggy pizza.

Once the pizza is assembled, make sure it is able to slide freely on the tray, then slide the pizza onto the preheated tray in the oven. The preheated tray will give a crispier base. Bake for around 6 minutes, but it may depend on the oven, so keep a close eye.