123 Pizza Dough Tutorial

I spent the first 38 years of my life under the misconception that I could not possibly make pizza dough.
It was one of the great mysteries of life.
I even had a private tutorial from my cooking buddy and still didn't really get it.
I think I had psyched myself out before even arriving there. Ha!

Well, I have made successful dough for about a year now and finally have the confidence to share this recipe. I urge you to give it a try!! Accolades...remember those!
You to must find the courage to face the great yeast demon and conquer this imponderable quest!

I do not have a brain for numbers or remembering things. In fact for example...I have made the same chocolate cake for about 20 years now and have not committed it to memory.
My brain doesn't work that way...unless you make remembering catchy in some way.
One morning when I was awake at 3 a.m. it occurred to me that this recipe can fall into that catchy arena and I put myself to work remembering.

It is so simple; I am a little embarrassed that I hadn't thought of it till now. But I will fight the shame and share with you anyway, to save you the trouble.
We are going to call it 123 Pizza Dough, or if you like it can be 246, or 468.
Here let me explain.
The main components are
Water: 1 cup
Yeast: 2tsp.
Flour: 3 cups
Ahhhhh, do you see that???
1 2 3!!!
There are only 2 other ingredients: 3/4 Tbs. Sea salt and 1 1/2 Tbs oil.
(***see note at end of post about salt!!)
If you can remember one then the other can fall into place by either doubling or dividing in two.
Do you see it??
One and a half is twice of three quarters or three quarters is half one and one half.
I know I am a little over excited about this, but it is such a break through in the remembering department.
Just think of all the people I will be able to WOW, when I can just rattle off this recipe with ease.

Here I am gonna do it again without even looking AND I am gonna convert it to the 2 crust amount.
Deep breath and here we go...
2 cups water
4 tsp. yeast
6 cups flour
1 1/2 Tbs. salt
3 Tbs. oil
I had a little panic attack there for a bit trying to remember which was the greater number with the salt and oil...and I guessed right.
Whew, stressful.

Alright let's get on to the making it portion of this recipe.
When photographing I was making the 3 crust portion therefore you see 3 cups of water in this first photo!!

That means how much yeast??? Were you paying attention?

Remember yeast likes a soothing bath water type temperature!
If your hand is comfortable in it then the yeast will be too.


Shake your yeast across the top of the water and walk away.
Really walk away.
Go do another chore or check your email or something.
The yeast needs to prove its worth and this takes a little time.
When most of the yeast has either sunk, or bubbled or gotten moist then it is time to move to the next step in the process. (Different yeasts have different personalities. Get to know your yeast!)
Something to note here. A little rectangular package of yeast is equal to 2 1/4 tsp. I scaled the number back from 2 1/4 to simply 2... for it to fit my 123 idea because I buy a bulk package of yeast instead of the little threesome packets.

Next up: the oil and salt.



Or salt and oil...however you want to remember it.
Toss both of those into the yeasty water, then dump your flour right on top of the swamp like concoction.
I use half all purpose white flour and half whole wheat flour.
For this time around, I was playing to a crowd of 10 year old boys who aren't used to my food nazi ways, so I scaled back the wheat flour by quite a bit!

I really do mean dump everything into the mixer. I have always done it this way and the dough always turns out great!!
Put the dough hook attachment on and turn the mixer to a medium low setting.

Whoa, that photo makes me a little dizzy!

You are going to find this a bit unbelievable, but it is true.
The dough hook does all the mixing for you. It manages to get every little bit of flour mixed right up into the dough without any help from you at all.
It amazes me every time!! I have never actually made a single crust version of this recipe, so I am not sure if that will hold true there...just a little disclaimer.

Let the dough hook do its work and then let it work a little more until the dough is held together and running around the bowl in a huge lump, seemingly climbing up the hook to get out.
Strange description, I know...but you will see, that is what happens.

Pull the hook out and cover the dough with plastic wrap and walk away again.

(TIP...You may find that you need to hit your plastic wrap with a bit of non stick spray.)

My foodie friend let me know that you don't really have to let this dough rise for long, but I like how it turns out when I do. I usually have the dough to this stage at 3:30 and am putting the pizza in the oven at 5:30.

This next picture may seem a bit random, but it has purpose.

I have just moved the dough from the mixer bowl, to a bowl for rising. I wanted you to see how clean the mixer bowl is! I don't usually move the dough, but needed to get some frosting whipped up this day.

Alrighty then...the dough has spent some time rising while you have been busy doing other things. If you are anything like me...it was LOTS of other things, especially this time of day.
Your next step is to stretch/roll your dough out into an appropriate shape for baking.

I am blessed to have these smoooooooth counter tops for rolling on! I don't even dust with flour cause this dough doesn't stick to my counter. You may experiment with this part of the process to find if this is the case for you. I roll, forcing the dough into the shape I need. I get kindof pushy with it, but if feeling too much resistance I let it rest for a few minutes and go back to push it around again. Now that I think about it...this has only happened with a shorter rise time!!
Don't be real worried about how even your shape is...this is homemade, wonky is just fine!

Heat your oven to 425-450 degrees. I know that is quite a variation in temperature, but my oven is different than yours, is different from hers, is different from his. You are gonna have to mess with what works best.

Once you get the dough into submission place it on your baking sheet. I am an ex-pampered chef representative, so I have my stones from back in the day.
I have only baked pizza on these so I can't speak for other alternatives.
(I guess I should have told you to get a mixer and pizza stones. ha!)
The dough will stick if your pizza stone is not well seasoned, so take measures to counteract this. You may have a non stick pan, or silpat, or non stick foil, or parchment paper...these are all viable solutions.
Next up...dock the dough!

Just quickly go over the whole crust punching holes in it. This keeps the big bubble syndrome at bay!

When your oven is hot, place the docked pizza crust in the lower third of the oven. Let it bake for 6-8 minutes. We are just trying to get the bottom foundation set, and the dough cooked almost through.
I rotate my crusts through this process and those steps that follow. For example...when I take the first crust out, I put the next one in on the bottom. It bakes to set, while I am putting toppings on the first. The second comes out and I put the first one back on the bottom to bake while I top the second. The first gets moved to the upper rack when the second topped one goes back in. The second gets moved up when the cheese is melty and slighty browned and the first comes out. All of that doesn't have to make a lot of sense to you right now, it is just the process I have worked out which works best for me.

I make my own sauce which consists of one can of tomato puree and one can of tomato paste which I add italian seasonings to. This makes enough to sauce both of these pizzas and enough to freeze for the next pizza night. Just put the leftovers in a ziploc bag, flatten it and freeze it. When it comes to the next time, just cut a bottom corner off of the baggie and squeeze the sauce onto the prepped crust.
I really like the thickness and texture of this sauce, you may like yours thinner or less tomato-ish...whatever works for you is what is best for you. Store bought pizza sauce is just fine...I suppose.
I guess if you must use it, I won't judge you.

Ohhhhhh boy, this is feeling so very wordy.
I hope you are sticking with me.
I do not have enough time in my day to shred my own cheese, so store bought it is. Choose Italian style and/or Pizza cheese. Mozzarella is a good choice too, but needs others mixed in with it.
My whole life has been spent avoiding pepperoni. It has a way of completely ruining my existence.
Thank you Hormel for creating a pepperoni with no nitrates, phosphates or msg.
My family thanks you, my existence thanks you!!

Layer your sauce, cheese and toppings.
Old school pizza prep says veggies go below the cheese and meats go above.
I do not subscribe to this and put stuff where I want to!
You do the same now...ya hear!

Like I said in the long winded statement above...let this cook in the bottom 2/3 of the oven for about 5 minutes (I don't really ever set a timer, just play it by eye), then move it up to the top 2/3 for cheese finishing. Maybe another 3-5 minutes.
Ahhhhh, I am sorry that I can't be more specific about that. It is kindof a no brainer though!

Mmmmmm....PIZZA!!!


I imagine some part of this is bound to be confusing for someone out there! Send me a message and we will work our way through your struggles!
I just bet if you do all the dumping as I have said, in a rather large bowl, then work in the flour until incorporated, then knead the dough for a bit, you can still get a great result.
I have a feeling when I am at my sister in laws house next week I will be putting that statement to the test... Unless she gets a mixer before then?!?

***I am coming back two days later to put in a very important point!!
I use sea salt in my cooking, which has a much coarser grind on it and therefore requires more to get the same salty taste in my cooking.
Please decrease the amount of salt called for by even as much as half, if you are using table salt. Maybe starting with 1 tsp. and working up as your palate calls for more.