Slow Pizza Dough

Nothing more exciting and fun than making your own pizza. Start with a good dough recipe, some basic tomato sauce, and the rest will follow. I was lucky to use a wood-burning oven, which inspired me to do some research on making a proper dough. After reading many recipes, I started to learn that 'kneading' and 'fermentation' are two very important processes to create a perfect dough. I'll tell you briefly why.

You want a strong but elastic dough. One that you can stretch and throw in the air without tearing. Flour contains different proteins that while kneading will transform into an elastic network. This network is better known to us as 'gluten'. The resting/rising/fermenting period gives the gluten more time to strengthen. The longer we can stretch this rising period without the yeast to die, the better also for our digestion system!

Now, time for the recipe :)

1 kilo Flour
600ml water
30grams of Salt
1gram fresh yeast

In this recipe, we’ll be using our hand as a mixer. Put the water in a big bowl and add the salt. To dissolve the salt, make gentle circles with your fingers in the water. Take 100 grams of the flour, and again, use your fingers to stir the flour in the salted water. Now, take the yeast, put it in the water and break it up using your fingers inside the water until it's completely dissolved.
It’s time to add the remaining flour; but, don’t add it all in once! 1 cup at a time making gentle circles with your hand until it turns into dough. Make sure to unstick the smaller bits of flour that stick to the side of the bowl as you continue to make circles with your hands around, and inward toward the center of the bowl. Again, around the bowl, and in toward the center.
When all the flour is added you should be able to form a ball.

Now, it’s time for the real work! Place your pizza dough on a clean surface. Have some spare flour, and if the dough is sticking too much on the surface or your hands, sprinkle a bit of flour over it. But be careful to not use too much additional flour, and make the dough too dry! Knead for about 20 minutes, very important, a real workout ;) The dough should become soft, smooth and elastic. Shape it into a ball and cover with a humid towel. The dough has to rest for at least two hours and should double in size before we divide it into smaller balls.

You can divide the dough into 6 equal portions. After separating, leave the dough for at least another hour. Then, you can start to make your pizzas, or save the balls in the fridge for the next day (make sure you put them in a sealed container so they don’t dry out.)
Pizza dough ready for toppings & baking; enjoy!