Pizza Dough & Technique

How much olive oil belongs in pizza dough (baker’s %), when to add it, what it does to gluten and browning, when lean Neapolitan skips it, and a practical home method. Continue reading “Olive Oil in Pizza Dough: How Much and When to Add”

Salt in pizza dough is usually 1.8–2.5% of flour weight (baker’s percent). Weigh it, and add after autolyse so gluten can form first — then mix until the sting of raw salt is gone. Continue reading “How Much Salt in Pizza Dough (Baker’s Percent)”

Semolina (or fine cornmeal) beats plain flour on the peel because the coarser grains act like tiny ball bearings — dough sticks less, launches cleaner, and you burn less white dust on the bottom. Continue reading “Semolina vs Flour for Launching Pizza (Peel Dusting)”

Autolyse rests flour and water 20–60 minutes before salt. Learn how it helps pizza dough stretch, when to add yeast, and when to skip it. Continue reading “Autolyse for Pizza Dough: What It Does and When to Skip It”

Biga vs poolish for pizza dough — stiff preferment vs pourable 100% hydration batter, hydration spectrum, ripeness cues, and when to use each at home. Continue reading “Biga vs Poolish for Pizza Dough”

Cold ferment pizza dough for 24, 48, or 72 hours — flavor, stretch, yeast dose, and when each window wins at home. Continue reading “Cold Ferment Pizza Dough: 24 vs 48 vs 72 Hours”

As an Amazon Associate, insiderpizza.com earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. The packet in the drawer is probably active dry. The vacuum brick on baking sites is usually instant. Fresh cake yeast lives in the fridge case and dies if you forget it. Same species of yeast. Three different tools forContinue reading “Instant vs Active Dry vs Fresh Yeast for Pizza Dough”

As an Amazon Associate, insiderpizza.com earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. The bag in the pantry is probably bleached all-purpose. That is the grocery-store default. You can make pizza dough with it. The question is whether you should, and what you give up in gluten, chew, and flavor if you do.Continue reading “Bleached vs Unbleached Flour for Pizza Dough”

Stretching pizza dough without tearing is a skill every home pizza maker needs. Here is the step-by-step technique that actually works. Continue reading “How to Stretch Pizza Dough Without Tearing (Step-by-Step Guide)”

Pizza dough hydration is one of those concepts that sounds technical but unlocks enormous improvement once you understand it. Whether your dough keeps tearing, your crust comes out dense and cracker-like, or you’re chasing that open, airy crumb you see in photos — the answer almost always comes back to hydration. This guide covers everything:Continue reading “Pizza Dough Hydration: The Complete Guide (60% to 80%)”

This Neapolitan pizza dough recipe is the one I keep coming back to. I have tested it across dozens of flour brands, fermentation windows, and hydration levels. The formula below is what I use when I want a consistently excellent result — blistered cornicione, soft and extensible base, minimal crumb that still has structure. Authentic,Continue reading “Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe”

Stop blaming your oven. A pizzeria operator breaks down the real reasons your homemade pizza dough fails — and exactly how to fix each one. Continue reading “Why Your Homemade Pizza Dough Sucks (And How to Fix It)”