0. Understanding the process
This pizza dough recipe consists of two different stages.
Stage 1: Autolyse
We start preparing a batch of dough that will be left to rest and used in the next dough we make. You can learn more about autolyse in our post.
Due to the hot temperatures at our pizzeria are a challenge to the dough making process, the dough will be stored in the fridge or cool room during this stage providing us a cold start for the next stage.
This stage prepares a new batch of dough to be made the next day, and the next stage uses a batch of autolysed dough made the day before.
Stage 2: Mixing the dough
We will use the autolysed batch of dough from the previous day and add the rest of ingredients, following a proper mixing process to achieve a smooth and stretchy dough which hasn’t been overmixed nor overheated.
1. Make a batch of autolysed dough
First we are going to autolyse our dough by properly hydrating our flour. For that we will mix only the flour called for in the recipe (10Kg) and 6L of cold tap water (the remaining 200ml of water will be used in the next stage) and we will let the resulting dough rest in the fridge.
Add into the mixer the 6L of water first, and then the 10Kg of flour (one whole bag).
Mix for 8 minutes at speed 1. The dough should have come together.
Put this dough in a 20L bucket that has been previously sprayed with oil (don’t forget this step!). Cover well with a lid or with cling wrap and put it in the fridge or cool room.
If there’s only one bucket available and it already contains a batch of autolysed dough from a previous day, just pour the autolysed dough on the counter, oil the bucket again, and put the new dough in. You are going to use the autolysed dough straight away.
We will use it about 24h later for the next dough. It can be left for up to 2 or 3 days later, but it’s not recommended for good results.
You don’t need to clean the mixer after this step if you are going to proceed with the next stage.
2. Make the final dough
Put the autolysed dough from the previous day into the mixer. There’s no need to cut it into chunks or anything.
Mix and dissolve the yeast with the amount of remaining water from the recipe (200ml).
Add the yeast and water mix into the mixer, on top of the dough.
It should take around 8-10 minutes at speed 1 to absorb all the water. Once the dough looks smooth and pumpkin-shaped, you should keep an eye on it. As soon as the pumpkin shape breaks into a flower shape on the left side, stop the mixer. If this hasn’t happened yet, keep adding another 2-3 minutes of mixing time until it happens.
Set a 10-minute timer and let the dough rest in the mixer for that time, covering the mixer’s lid with a humid tea towel to avoid the dough’s surface from drying out.
Mix the oil and the salt together, making sure that all the salt gets hydrated with the oil (it is normal for the salt to sit at the bottom).
Add the mix of salt and oil to the dough. You can add it all at once, it is not required to slowly pour it.
Mix for 3-5 minutes at speed 1. Just as before, once all the ingredients have been absorbed and the dough has been kneading as a pumpkin shape for a while, there will be a moment when it breaks into a half-flower shape and you need to stop it as soon as possible. Add more mixing time if it hasn’t happened yet, until it happens
If everything went well, the dough’s internal temperature shouldn’t have surpassed 24ºC.
Let the dough rest for at least another 10 minutes in the mixer’s bowl, covering the lid again with a humid tea towel to avoid the dough’s surface from drying out.
Clean the bench and slightly spray it with oil on the place where you are going to place the dough.
Wet your hands with cold water (they must be wet but not dripping) so that the dough doesn’t stick to them. Do some little folds around the dough in the bowl, until you have a ball that is not touching the sides of the bowl.
Lift it up and take it to the bench. Shape it as a ball. Slightly spray oil on the dough surface.
Wait some time until the dough flattens. Once it has flattened a bit, do a stretch and fold, and shape it as a ball again. Slightly spray oil on the dough surface again.
Repeat the last step once more.
The stretch and fold technique strengthens the gluten strands to achieve a stronger dough that is less likely to tear, as well as it incorporates some air into the dough and helps it keep its shape.
We are going to allow the dough to bulk ferment for a couple hours on the bench before portioning. Loosely cover the dough with cling wrap to make sure that there’s no airflow that dries out the surface of the dough. When placing the cling wrap, take into account that the dough will flatten over time, and the cling wrap must not stop it from doing so.
After approximately two hours of bulk fermentation, the dough will be ready to be portioned into pizza dough balls.