Bobby Flay Pizza Dough is an easy homemade base made with bread flour, instant yeast and olive oil, ready in 1 hour 30 minutes. One batch makes two 14 inch crusts. Only twenty minutes of that is hands on, and the dough happens to be vegan.
Flay made this on Grill It! in an episode about grilled pizza, and the flour choice is the whole decision. Bread flour carries more protein, so it builds the gluten that turns into a crisp crust. All-purpose works, though it gives you something chewier instead.
The recipe calls for three and a half to four cups of flour, and that range is not laziness. Humidity and flour brand change how much water the dough will take, so you add the last half cup by feel. Sticky and shaggy means more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until it balls up.
Bobby Flay Pizza Dough
Course: MainCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalWater at 110 degrees is warm enough to wake the yeast without killing it, which a thermometer settles faster than guessing. After the dough doubles it gets divided and rested ten more minutes, so the gluten relaxes before you stretch it.
Ingredients
- For the Dough (makes 2 x 14-inch crusts):
3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon sugar
1 envelope instant dry yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups water, at 110 degrees F
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons for the bowl
Directions
- Combine the dry ingredients: Combine the bread flour, sugar, yeast and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix to combine.
- Add the wet and adjust: While the mixer is running, add the water and 2 tablespoons of the oil and beat until the dough forms into a ball. If the dough is sticky, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together in a solid ball; if it is too dry, add water 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Knead into a ball: Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead it into a smooth, firm ball.
- Let it double: Grease a large bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, add the dough and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Put it in a warm area and let it double in size, about 1 hour.
- Divide and rest: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cover each with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes before shaping.
The 1 hour 30 minute total is 20 minutes of work plus 1 hour 10 minutes of rising and resting, which the card lists separately. No nutrition is published, so the calorie figure is estimated per eighth of the batch.
Dough is the one part of pizza night that cannot be rushed.
FAQs
How much is one envelope of instant yeast?
Two and a quarter teaspoons, or seven grams, which is the standard packet size in the United States. Instant yeast goes straight into the dry ingredients, unlike active dry which needs blooming in the water first. Swap in active dry at the same amount, but dissolve it in the warm water for five minutes.
Can I make this without a stand mixer?
Yes, and hand mixing takes about eight minutes of kneading instead of the mixer’s two. Combine the dry ingredients, pour in the water and oil, then stir with a wooden spoon until too stiff. Turn it out and knead until smooth and springy.
My dough will not rise.
Picture the water you poured in: anything above 120 degrees kills the yeast outright, and cold water leaves it dormant. A kitchen under 68 degrees also stalls the rise, so set the bowl near a warm oven. Check the yeast expiry date too, since an open jar fades within months.
Can I freeze the dough?
Freeze it after the first rise, divided into its two balls and wrapped tightly, for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and let it sit at room temperature an hour before stretching. Cold dough snaps back instead of spreading, which is what tears holes in the middle.
What temperature do I bake it at?
Pushing the oven as hot as it goes, usually 500 to 550 degrees F, with a stone preheated a full hour. Eight to ten minutes is typical at that heat. On a grill it cooks faster still, which is how this grilled margherita pizza is built.
Is this dough actually vegan?
Food Network files it under vegan, and the six ingredients back that up: flour, sugar, yeast, salt, water and olive oil. Nothing in the dough itself is animal derived, so the toppings decide whether the finished pizza stays that way. These grilled chicken taco pizzas are a good example of toppings taking it the other direction.
