I think we all learned a lot during quarantine. I learned I love my husband to pieces. I learned I’m a good mom, even if I’m a novice and sometimes put the diaper on backwards! Am I the only one who does that? I learned even my crazy, hyperactive self can slow down and enjoy the small moments. And most importantly of all, I learned homemade pizza dough is wayyyyy better than store bought!
Making homemade pizza dough has been on my to do list for years. And I mean years. I’m obsessed with my food processor [affiliate link] (and if you aren’t, grab some motivation to put yours into use reading this post) and pizza, so I knew that using my food processor to make pizza dough would become a new obsession. Maybe that’s why I waited so long to try it because now I’m eating more pizza than ever!!!! But it’s just sooooo good.
A borrowed recipe
The recipe I’m sharing with you today is from the Cuisinart website. I’m not a professional baker, so even though I’ve made this many times, tweaking the recipe by adding more flour or less water, I believe their version is better than any of my variations. I’ve explained the process a bit more clearly in the instructions as well as woven in my personal tips and tricks. Sometimes you have to stick with the experts.
Wait! My dough is sticky! I can’t roll it out!
Don’t fret. Your dough should be sticky once you’ve processed it. After it rises it will be a lot less sticky yand easier to handle.
If when it’s time to roll out your dough you find that it is too sticky, don’t fret! This happens to me all the time! If you find that your dough is too sticky when it comes time to roll it out, just add more flour…and I mean a bunch more flour. Don’t be shy here. Add enough so that it is easy to work with. And don’t worry….you aren’t changing the flavor of the dough. So, go ahead and dust your work surface with flour, your rolling pin with flour, your hands with flour and the dough with flour. Keep adding flour to the dough until you can easily roll it out. I can almost never get my dough to roll into a circle, so I just roll into a rectangle and cook it on baking sheet.
Getting the perfect crispy crust
I love crispy, crunchy pizza crust. I hate it burnt. In order to achieve this at home, I make sure my oven is super-hot…like 500° hot. I generously oil a baking sheet and place the dough on it, reshaping as necessary. I bake the dough without any toppings for about 5 minutes, until it has just started to brown. Then I take the dough out, flip it and top it. Then I bake the pizza for 8-10 more minutes. I find that flipping the dough helps it get nice and crispy. I do this if I’m cooking on the grill as well. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Works great in the oven and on the grill
As I stated earlier, I love me some pizza. What I don’t love is turning the oven up to 500° when it is 90° outside and I’m already sweating in my AC-less house. These are the days I light the grill and take my pizza making skills to the great outdoors. I’ve tried to cook this dough directly on the grill and while it most certainly works, I struggled to get the crispy crust I love. Thus, I use the same technique as I do when baking the pizza in the oven—I shape dough into a rectangle and place it on a generously oiled baking sheet. I put the baking sheet directly on the hot grill and let it cook for about 5 minutes, then I take it off, flip the dough, top it and put it back on grill to finish cooking usually about 8-10 more minutes. A few words to the wise…be very, very careful when taking the baking sheet off the grill. My grill gets super-hot and find that I need to use both an oven mit and a towel for extra protection when taking the baking sheet off the grill. Also, keep in mind that everyone’s grill is different and baking time will vary depending on the temperature of your grill. Every time you open the top, the heat will escape so it is a little trickier to give an exact cook time when you’re dealing with the grill.
Pizza ideas
Really any kind of pizza is great, but I’ll share with you a two of my top repeats.
Broccoli Rabe Pizza—layer in this order: favorite pizza sauce, dollops of ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella, (optional grated Romano or Parmesan cheese), sautéed broccoli rabe; once baked, finish with freshly ground pepper
Arugula Pesto Pizza—layer in this order: arugula pesto, dollops of ricotta, shredded mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes (oil drained); once baked, finish with fresh arugula and freshly cracked black pepper
Get pizza dough-ing!!!!
It really is so simple and fun to make your own pizza dough. Like I mentioned above, sautéed broccoli rabe makes a great pizza topping and you should try swapping out pizza sauce for arugula pesto. You could even make a salad pizza by just baking the dough to perfection and then topping with your favorite salad. I’m trying Broccoli Cabbage Caesar and Asparagus Tomato salad pizzas this summer and will let you know how they come out! As always, let me know how your pizza dough and pizzas come out by leaving a comment below. Enjoy! Buen provecho!
Food Processor Pizza Dough
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 1 packet 2¼ (teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup warm water (105°–115°F) see note
- 1 ⅔ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for coating
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- In a medium liquid measuring cup, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water (105°–115°F). Let stand until foamy (about 3 to 5 minutes). Fit the food processor with the metal blade and add the flour, olive oil and salt. With the machine running pour the water through feed tube. Process until dough cleans sides of work bowl and forms a ball. Then process for 30 seconds to knead dough (set a timer as you do not want to over knead).
- Carefully remove the metal blade from the food processor. Flour your hands and remove the dough from the work bowl, scrapping any extra off the sides. The dough will be sticky. Coat the dough lightly with olive oil, place in a plastic food storage bag lightly dusted with flour and seal the top, squeezing out any air. You can also place in a large mixing bowl, covering with plastic wrap or a clean towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 45 minutes.
- Clean and generously dust the surface you are going to use to roll out your dough. Remove the dough and sprinkle generously with flour. Roll dough into desired shape. If you find that the dough is too sticky to roll, just keep adding flour until it is easy to work with. Bake in a 450-500° F preheated oven.
- See post for pizza ideas, troubleshooting rolling your dough, how to get a crispy crust and using the grill instead of the oven.
Notes
- If you’re doubling, DON’T double the amount of yeast. One packet will work just fine. Double everything else.
- You should be able to get 105°–115°F water right out of your faucet.
- I recommend washing the food processor parts right away since they will be sticky; it makes for a faster clean up!
