The proof is in the pizza: cold proof pizza dough recipe
Pump up your pizza's flavour factor the cold proof way
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All good pizzas start with a flavoursome, perfectly baked base. Lay your foundations right, and you'll set your toppings up for crispy, crunchy success – but create a duff dough and even the finest of pizza sauces won't save you from a calamitous crust.
What are we getting at? Simple. If you want to make a pizza that tastes truly magnifico, you've got to put the effort in – and this cold proof pizza dough recipe from our favourite bunch of pizza lovers Ooni is the way to do it. Word to the wise: cold proofing your dough helps it to create a complex structure, leading to a deeper flavour and aded texture. In other words? It's a no-brainer.
Always wanted to try your hand at making your own base? Then scroll down a couple of inches and treat your eyes (and tummy) to the easiest cold proof pizza dough method around. All you'll need to help you on your way is a handful of ingredients and an Ooni pizza oven...
Pump up your pizza's flavour factor the cold proof way.
Ingredients
- 364ml cold water
- 18g salt
- 4.1g fresh yeast (or 1.8g active dried yeast, or 1.4g instant dried yeast)
- 607g “00” flour, plus extra for dusting
Instructions
Stage 1: Preparing the pizza dough
- Place two thirds of the water in a large bowl.
- In a saucepan or microwave, bring the other third of water to the boil, then add it to the cold water in the bowl. This creates the correct temperature for activating yeast. Whisk the salt and yeast into the warm water.
Stage 2: Mixing and kneading (by hand)
- Place the flour in a large bowl and pour the yeast mixture into it. Stir with a wooden spoon until a dough starts to form.
- Continue mixing by hand until the dough comes together in a ball. Turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead with both hands for about 10 minutes, until it is firm and stretchy.
- Return the dough to the bowl. Cover with cling film (plastic wrap).
Stage 2: Mixing and kneading (using a mixer)
- Fit the mixer with a dough hook and place the flour in the mixer bowl. Turn the machine on at a low speed and gradually add the yeast mixture to the flour.
- Once combined, leave the dough to keep mixing to at the same speed for 5-10 minutes, or until the dough is firm and stretchy.
- Cover the mixing bowl with cling film (plastic wrap).
Stage 3: Cold proving the pizza dough
- Place the covered pizza dough in the fridge to cold prove for 24 to 72 hours. When the dough has roughly doubled in size, remove the dough from the fridge.
Stage 4: The second prove
- Divide the cold-proved pizza dough into 3 or 5 equal pieces, depending on what size you want your pizzas to be (either 12 inches or 16 inches wide).
- Shape each piece into a ball, and place each pizza dough ball in a separate bowl or tray. Cover with cling film and leave to rise for 5 hours on your kitchen worktop, so that they can come up to room temperature and double in size.
Stage 5: Stretching the pizza dough
- Once the second prove is complete, you’re ready to stretch out your pizza bases. Place the ball on a lightly floured surface, flour your hands and use your fingertips to press the dough into a small, flat disc. Working from the centre, push the dough outwards while spreading your fingers, making the disc slightly bigger.
- Pick up the dough and gently pinch it all around the edge, allowing gravity to pull it downwards into a 30cm (12-inch) circle. Neapolitan-style pizza bases are very thin, so you should be able to see through the base when you hold it up to the light. Take care when doing this – you don’t want it to tear.
- Once the dough is fully stretched, lightly flour your pizza peel and lay the base on it. If at this point you see any small holes in the dough, gently pinch them back together. Once you’re happy with the base, add your toppings and bake in your Ooni pizza oven.
Recipe by
Ooni
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Comments (3)
Is the final product improved in any way? If it makes the most epic of doughs then it might be worth it for special occasions, or if you wanted to just make someone wait for it 😂
So 29 to 77 hours to make just the base, I don't think so.
Too much work 🤣 when I worked years ago for Pizza Slut, making dough you learn it all if you run out of pan pizza dough throw a hand tossed pizza dough on the oven in a pan pizza in 20 minutes will be pan pizza dough that was in a pinch 🤣 store bought dough is so much better who has a mixer around. We had them where people that had long hair it got caught in the mixer would remove their scalp 😔 ouch 😣 and others where it would break your arm. Why the best cook book from a commercial chef. Gave 40 plus ways you could get hurt in a commercial kitchen. Why it’s got to be a good thing to have a healthy fear in what you can do in a commercial kitchen and at home.