Learn to make pizza LIKE THIS with Dickson Hill Farm!
Building an outdoor pizza oven was high on our priority list when we began developing plans for our property. Even before we purchased the land we knew this was an important feature for us. We use it all year round and after five years the novelty hasn't worn off. It was definitely worth every minute of work and every dollar spent.
We cook all kinds of things in our oven, but our favourite is, of course, pizza. We spent the first few years experimenting, in search of the perfect crust. Our friends always liked our pizza, but being critical foodies ourselves, behind the scenes we were never fully satisfied and continued learning and changing our methods and recipes.
During the summer of 2020, we discovered Daniele Uditi, chef at Pizzana in California and pizza dough ninja. He is our pizza guru! We studied his techniques and soon realized that we were onto something special. From that moment on, our entire approach to Neapolitan pizza dough suddenly changed. Sure, long and extended ferments were cool. Sourdough is fun, and we still use it for other things we bake. But this method is predictable, consistent, and so, SO GOOD! It stretches beautifully, allowing for that super thin middle while holding air in the outer edge at that same time. It's tender and forgiving and perfect.
I've made this dough so many times now, I no longer read Daniele's recipe or watch the videos while I'm doing it. I have a notebook where I've documented all trials to date and the last page shows my notes on the ingredients and amounts. It's super simple. I use a full recipe or a half recipe, depending on how many pies we'll be making, and it's all from memory and by "feel" now. The information I'm giving you today may not be exactly according to Daniele, so I'll post links to his recipe at the end of this in case you're curious. If you want to make pizza like we do at Dickson Hill Farm, this is what we do:
Gather Ingredients:
STRONG BREAD FLOUR. This is important, so I'll say it again–strong bread flour. This flour should have a high protein content. It should be at least 12% or higher. You don't need to go for a really fancy, ancient grain. This flour can sometimes be called strong baker's flour. Reach out if you want to know exactly which flour we use.
RED STAR YEAST. Not all yeasts are the same. Trust me. If you can find it, use it. Period.
SEA SALT. Finely ground.
WATER. Filtered water is best.
That's it. Simple and dead easy.
Put the yeast in warm water and let it sit for a few minutes to absorb, giving it a quick stir.
Put a few tablespoons of warm water in your salt and stir to dissolve.
Measure out your flour into a large mixing bowl.
Add the yeast/water mixture into the flour and use your hand to work into a rough dough. Don't over-knead.
Add your saltwater. Mix by hand to incorporate.
If the dough feels too dry, add a bit more water. If it feels too wet, add a bit of flour. It will depend on your climate and humidity, so don't be afraid to adjust. Do NOT over-mix yet. It's not a finished dough, just a quick mix. It should look like this:
Let the quick mix rest for five minutes. The flour is going to absorb the moisture and when you feel it again, you'll know if you need to adjust more. It should be sticky but not too wet. Dump it out onto a generously floured board and begin kneading for approximately five minutes (see below). The gluten will begin to form and it will become smooth and elastic. Place into a clean bowl and cover with plastic. I use a shower cap (which you can wash and reuse). Let it rise until doubled in size like below:
Gently dump out onto a floured board and mark out your portions before cutting. Cut the portions and using a bit of flour, shape into balls. Cover for the second rise. I use large plastic containers with lids. When your dough has doubled in size, it's ready to use. See below.
There are a few variables that affect rising time. The most important are heat and humidity. Summers in Ontario are very hot and humid. Even in our air conditioned home, dough rises much faster than it does during the winter. So, this means that in the summer, I make my dough more DRY to compensate, and the rise time is SHORTER. If you let dough rise too long, the performance and taste are compromised, so adjust accordingly.
A typical summer timeline for me is this: Start dough at 10-11am. First rise is done by 1-2pm; form balls. Ready to make pizza around 5pm. If the timeline changes, don't worry, you've got options. One trick I sometimes use is to RETARD the dough with refrigeration, which slows down the rising process. You can retard during the first or second rise, but I usually use the second rise. I let the dough balls rise for about an hour, then pop the container in the refrigerator. When I'm about an hour from making pizza, I take it out of the fridge and let it return to room temp and finish the second rise--good to go! Of course, this takes practice, but you'll get it, I promise! Read on for the recipe:
Full Recipe:
This makes enough dough for 4-8 pizzas, depending on how big you make yours. We like our pizzas about 10-12 inches wide and one pizza is about one adult serving. Cut in half for a smaller batch.
6 cups strong flour
2-1/2 cups (+/-) water
1-1/3 tsp yeast
2 TB salt
When your dough is ready to use, and you're set up to make pizza, remember this: Knowing how to stretch your dough is just as important as the dough itself. If you deflate your dough by smashing it with a rolling pin, you've just ruined all your hard work. This process could be a lesson for another day and takes some practice. It might be best to learn from a master, so I have posted a link below for you to watch Daniele Uditi stretch his dough. I hope this has been educational and I hope you try to make this pizza! Mangia!
I chose this video because I love it. Daniele shows Jennifer Garner how simple it is to make the dough, form the balls, and shape and stretch the crust. Also, he shows how to bake in your kitchen oven. So you don't need to take on a two-year project of building an outdoor pizza oven just to make good pizza. More questions? Just ask! We're glad to help.