Pizza dough

How to make pizza dough: put the sifted flour in a bowl and add the finely crumbled brewer's yeast [1], then mix using a wooden spoon.
Pour the water gradually. [2], continuing to mix so that it is absorbed by the flour and the yeast dissolves completely.

Add salt and pour the extra virgin olive oil [3] while continuing to mix. This type of dough, mixed roughly, is called 'no knead'.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for 30 minutes at room temperature [4].
Better if you put it in the oven with the 'oven off' mode so as to have a constant temperature of 26-28°.

Transfer the dough to the work surface and fold it over on itself, repeating the operation on the 4 sides [5]. Then three times, we close the dough by pulling it towards us with our hands. Don't worry if, at the beginning, the consistency is sticky (spread a thin layer of flour on the surface to help). Put the dough back in the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise for 20 minutes [6].

[8].

HOW TO SPREAD PIZZA DOUGH IN A BAKING TRAY

Take the dough, transfer it to the work surface and divide it into three loaves of the same weight: in this way you will have pizzas of the right thickness, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Cover them with a clean tea towel or a sheet of plastic wrap and let them rise for a hour at room temperature [9].
Pour a little semola flour (Semola is a high-gluten flour made from hard durum wheat. It has a yellow color) and flatten each loaf by pressing with your fingers all around and in the center [10].

We remove the excess semola and transfer the dough into a 26-28 cm pan, greased with olive oil (it doesn't matter if we don't reach the edges) [11].
Let it rest for another 30 minutes, finally spread it with your hands to the right size: add the tomato puree [12] and the ingredients we prefer. We opted for anchovies and capers. 

COOKING PIZZA IN THE OVEN

Pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil [13] and cook in a preheated oven at maximum temperature (300°) for about 10 minutes [14] or at 200°-220° for 15-20 minutes.

If you want to cook several pizzas at the same time, we recommend using the ventilated mode to have air recirculation and uniform cooking.
If, on the other hand, you have a gas oven, remember that it will tend to burn the bottom of the pizza since the heat source only comes from below, check cooking often!

You can recreate a refractory effect by heating an iron pan (the thickest you have at home) upside down, with the bottom facing upwards, and cooking the pizza by placing it on a sheet of baking paper.

Pizza dough with planetary mixer

To make a good dough with the planetary mixer, you need to follow a few small steps.

The main problem with the planetary mixer is that it heats up the dough a lot and could ruin or slow down the gluten formation.

During the kneading phase, the proteins in the flour, mixed with water, form the gluten mesh, which is nothing more than a lattice commonly called gluten.
The yeast added during the formation of the dough forms a gas, carbon dioxide.
This formation ends when the yeast runs out of sugars in the dough and thus stops producing gas.
From that moment on, the dough becomes too leavened and the collapse phase begins.

If we decide to use the planetary mixer to make the pizza dough, we must use very cold water (keep the water in the fridge and a hour before kneading, put it in the freezer to have it very cold).
The procedure to follow to make the pizza dough with the planetary mixer is almost identical to the one explained above.

Pour the flour into the mixing bowl, crumble the yeast and activate the mixer with the leaf for a couple of minutes at low speed.
Add 60-65% of the frozen water and continue to knead until all the water has been absorbed.
At this point, add the remaining water little by little and increase the speed of the machine by 30%.
Before having completed the pouring of all the water, slowly pour in the oil and salt.
We finish the dough by removing the leaf and using the hook.
The dough is ready when nothing is stuck to the sides of the mixing bowl.

At this point let the dough 'point' (the first leavening after kneading and before the formation of the loaves is called 'point') 1 out of the fridge and then 3 hours in the refrigerator.
Then take it out, make the loaves (this phase is called 'staglio' or the moment in which the loaves are formed).
Let the loaves rise for a second time (this second leavening is called 'appretto', in Naples they are called 'criscitielli') for a couple of hours.
Roll out the dough and you are ready for cooking.

The golden rules for preparing pizza dough

1. The amount of water to use depends on various factors including the amount of gluten. A flour rich in gluten absorbs more water
2. The leavening of your dough must take place in a warm environment at a temperature of about 25°, away from drafts. You can put it in a closed piece of furniture or inside a turned off oven, for example
3. The cooking temperature is the maximum (usually 395°F but can even reach 572°F) and cooking times vary according to the weight and thickness of your pizza.
4. The electric fan oven is the most suitable for cooking, remember to preheat it before putting it in the oven
5. Never use the rolling pin to roll out the pizza so as not to frustrate the leavening process