Description
This Lazy No Knead Pizza Dough recipe is perfect for those who want a delicious, homemade pizza crust without the fuss of kneading. Using minimal ingredients and simple methods, you can prepare a soft and airy dough, either with a slow fermentation over 8-9 hours or a faster method in just over an hour. The dough yields four 11-12 inch pizzas with a perfectly blistered crust after baking at a high temperature. Ideal for home cooks seeking an easy yet flavorful pizza base.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cup (~500 grams) bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ¼ – 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast (¼ teaspoon for slow method, 1 teaspoon for fast method)
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup (400 grams) warm water (between 105ºF)
Instructions
- Mix Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the flour, instant dry yeast, kosher salt, and warm water. Use a dough spatula to mix all ingredients until just incorporated.
- Fermentation – Slow Method: Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature (ideally around 70°F) for 8-9 hours. If your environment is cooler, the time may extend slightly, allowing the dough to ferment slowly and develop flavor.
- Fermentation – Fast Method: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and place it in a warm spot between 72-85ºF. Let the dough rise for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours until it visibly doubles in size.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Surface: Position a rack near the upper third of the oven. If using a pizza stone or baking steel, place it in the oven before preheating. Preheat the oven to its maximum temperature, ideally between 500-550ºF, for at least 40-45 minutes to ensure the stone or steel is thoroughly heated.
- Shape the Dough: Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface, generously dusted with at least ¼ cup flour, as the dough will be very wet. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Working one ball at a time, use your fingertips on the surface or knuckles in the air to stretch and shape each portion into an 11-12 inch disk.
- Prepare the Pizza for Baking: If using a pizza peel, dust it with semolina flour or cornmeal to prevent sticking. Place the shaped dough onto the peel and add your desired sauce, toppings, and cheese. Ensure the pizza can slide freely by giving the peel a gentle shimmy; if it sticks, lift the stuck corner and sprinkle more semolina flour beneath.
- Bake the Pizza: Slide the pizza from the peel onto the preheated pizza stone or baking steel in the oven. Bake for 7-10 minutes until the crust is browned and blistered to your liking.
- Serve: Transfer the baked pizza to a heatproof surface, slice, and serve immediately for best flavor and texture.
Notes
- The amount of yeast used depends on the method: ¼ teaspoon for slow fermentation, 1 teaspoon for fast fermentation.
- Warm water should be between 105ºF to activate the yeast without killing it.
- Using a pizza stone or baking steel preheated properly ensures a crisp and bubbly crust.
- Flour your work surface generously because the dough is quite wet and sticky.
- Semolina flour or cornmeal on the peel prevents sticking when transferring the pizza to the oven.
- If the dough feels too wet and difficult to handle, add small amounts of flour during shaping but avoid adding too much to keep it airy.
- Optimal oven temperature and preheating time are critical to achieving the best texture and browning on the crust.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 7-10 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch, Snack
- Method: No Knead, Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of dough (approximately 180 grams)
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 500 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 65 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: no knead pizza dough, easy pizza dough, homemade pizza crust, no knead bread dough, quick pizza dough, slow fermented pizza dough
