Hello,
Welcome to Day 1 of Pizza School!
Let's get straight to it: The first step to making excellent pizza at home is to get comfortable working with high-hydration pizza doughs.
High-hydration pizza doughs are those made with a high proportion of water relative to flour. While definitions vary, a high-hydration dough is one composed of 75% water or more.
A high proportion of water allows these types of doughs to be mixed together quickly and easily — no kneading or stand mixer required — and it also creates a pizza crust that stays crisp but tender during the cooking process with beautiful air pockets throughout.
Why? Let's back up.
In your search for the perfect pizza dough recipe, you may have come across very promising-looking recipes for Neapolitan-style pizza with photos depicting crusts with light, airy, ballooned edges.
Contrary to what you might think, Neapolitan-style pizza dough is actually on the lower end of the hydration spectrum. If you compare those recipes to the one I use in my home oven, you'll notice those recipes call for significantly less water relative to the amount of flour.
But didn't you just say the secret to making excellent pizza at home is to use a lot of water?
I did.
So why do Neapolitan pizza crusts perform so well at such low hydrations?
Because Neapolitan pizzas cook in 60 to 90 seconds in 900ºF ovens.
Got it, but can you elaborate?
Yes. Stay with me here: When you bake in a super-hot oven, the cooking time will be reduced, which means there will be less time for the water in the dough to evaporate. In other words, when the cooking time is brief, the dough will be able to retain a lot of its moisture.
So, despite the low hydration, a baked Neapolitan crust is light and airy because the dough is able to retain its moisture during its brief time in the oven.
If you were to bake a 65% hydration Neapolitan pizza dough in your home oven, which can only get up to 550ºF at the most, which will in turn require a longer baking time, you likely will be disappointed with the result because the longer cooking time will allow too much water to evaporate, leaving you with a dry, tough crust.
Make sense? In other words, in order for pizza dough not to dry out in a home oven, it needs more water from the start.
I'd love you to complete Pizza School before jumping into the recipe, but if you are eager, here is my go-to, simple, high-hydration pizza dough recipe.
In the recipe, I offer a range of water amounts — 1.75 to 2 cups (400 to 454 g) — and it may take you a trial or two to figure out the ideal amount of water to use given your environment and the type of flour you are using.
For instance, if you live in a humid environment or you choose to use Tipo 00 flour, consider starting with 1.75 cups (400 grams) water. Furthermore, depending on the protein content of the flour you are using, you may need more or less water — some flours are "thirstier" than other and may therefore need more water.
Take notes. Embrace the journey. Before you know it, you'll be slinging the pizza of your dreams.
| 4-Ingredient Pizza Dough |
This concludes Lesson #1. See you tomorrow, when I'll share the only four ingredients you need to make great pizza dough at home.
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