Pizza is a family favourite dish that leaves everyone satisfied. No matter who you are or what your dietary requirements are you can be sure that you will be able to make something to satisfy you.
Nothing makes these dishes taste better than making the pizza dough from scratch. While it does take some prep time, it is very easy to make and will give the kids something to do to help them get interested in cooking.
So to not keep you waiting any longer, below is our authentic pizza dough recipe.
Authentic pizza dough recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 1/2 cups of warm water
- 1 dash of caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons of yeast
- 4 cups of plain flour (you will need extra for dusting)
Instructions
- Combine your water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl.
- Whisk the mixture thoroughly and set it aside for 5 minutes or until it starts to foam up.
- Add in your flour and salt into the centre and mix thoroughly.
- Add in your oil and mix again.
- Dust your bench top with some flour and use your hands to combine the dough.
- Knead the dough with your hands for several minutes.
- Grab a bowl and lightly brush it with olive oil.
- Place your kneaded dough in the oil bowl and cover it with cling wrap.
- Let it sit for half an hour where it should have doubled in size.
- After the 30 minutes dust your bench with more flour and knead the dough into long cylinders.
- Divide the total amount into thirds and use a rolling pin to give them a disc shape.
- Add your desired toppings along and bake them in your oven and you're ready to go!
Notes
The history of pizza
Pizza is a deliciously simple invention, the basis of the idea is toppings on flat bread base, so it’s entirely possible that many people have independently created something akin to pizza over the course of history. In fact, mentions of pizza-like dishes stretch back thousands of years, often on flat breads similar to a focaccia. The version of it that we know and love in modern times began to first emerge out of Italy. There is evidence that a dough based flat bread with toppings was popular throughout Pompeii before it was levelled by the volcanic explosion at Mount Vesuvius, there were even stores with equipment that looked similar to the equipment found in modern pizzeria’s.
At that time there was no tomato sauce used, as they only existed in the Americas and were yet to be introduced to Europe.
By the early 1500’s however, the tomato had made its way to the New World and by all accounts received a cold reception. Many people feared them and felt they might even be poisonous. As a result, tomatoes eventually made their way onto the plates of the poverty stricken members of society in Naples. The poorer members of Naples society would use the ingredients they had on hand to make flat bread – this is why Italian pizza is often enjoyed with minimal ingredients.
As Naples residents began to enjoy simple tomato paste with their pizzas word spread, and tourists would slum it and seek out the peasant fare more and more, until even the Queen herself eventually holidayed in Naples and tried some herself – she like one so much they named it Pizza Margherita, after her.
Italian immigrants following the first world war eventually brought pizza to the rest of the world. It was until the 1950’s that it became well known however, and began to spread rapidly through the world.
Pizza has remained popular ever since and evolved over time. Whilst traditional wood fired pizza is still popular throughout Italy, new takes on it, such as Chicago deep dish pizza also became popular over the years.
Some fun facts about pizza
The popularity of pizza in the United States is so great, that New York has the highest rate of consumption of any city anywhere in the world.
Americans actually spend about $37 billion a year on pizza alone and consume on average around 6000 slices of pizza every year.
Having a wood fired oven in a restaurant has been found to boost sales, sometimes by as much as 50%
The biggest time of the year sales wise for pizza is during the American Super Bowl weekend, where pizza sales and delivery go through the roof for hungry sports fans who gather to watch the game on tv.