This 4-ingredient, easy pizza dough (1 pound) has a thin crust and an airy rim – just like in Italy! Overnight or short rise method: Make the dough without kneading overnight, or right away with a short 1-hour-rise and a bit of kneading. The pizza dough is vegan and yields either 1 large sheet pan pizza or 2 individual ones. No special equipment needed! For make ahead instructions up to 2 days in advance see notes below.
Yield: 2individual pizzas (8 inch/20cm) or one 13x18-inch sheet
Ingredients
¾cup(180 ml) water
¼teaspooninstant yeast or active dry yeast(use 1 teaspoon or 3.5g for short rise)
¾teaspoon(4 g) fine salt
2cups(250 g) bread-flour or all-purpose flour(both work fine!)
Instructions
Long rise (8-15 hours or overnight):
In a large bowl, add water, yeast, and salt. Stir until salt has dissolved, about 15 seconds. Add flour and stir with a cooking spoon until combined, about 1 minute.
Cover as air-tight as possible using a mixing bowl with a fitting lid or a bowl covered with a damp towel and a plate/cutting board on top. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 8-15 hours, until the dough has doubled or tripled in volume and appears bubbly and puffy.
Short rise (1 hour):
In a large bowl, add water, yeast, and salt. Stir until salt has dissolved, about 15 seconds. Add flour and stir with a cooking spoon until combined, about 1 minute. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes by hand or using a stand mixer with dough hook.
Cover with a lid or damp towel and let the dough rest on the counter until the dough has doubled in volume, about 1 hour. At cool room temperature it can take a little longer, at warm temperature (in the oven with light on, in summer etc.) it will take shorter.
Both versions:
Transfer dough to a generously floured working surface, tuck the edges of the dough up to form 1 ball for a 13x18 baking sheet or 2 smaller balls for individual pizzas with 8-inch/20 cm. Flip so the seam side is down and let dough relax for 5 minutes.
Stretch the dough into 1 rectangle or 2 circles, leaving the rim thicker. If the dough resists or shrinks back while stretching, let it rest again for a few minutes.
Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet or use 2 sheets for individual pizzas if they don’t fit on one sheet. Add desired sauce and toppings and bake in the preheated oven at 450°F / 230°C (or to 425 °F / 220 °C if using a fan-oven) for 15 minutes. If you bake 2 individual pizzas at once, rotate sheets halfway through.
Notes
Make ahead:If you have made the recipe for short rise dough (higher yeast amount) but want to bake the pizza 10 hours or up to 2 days later, tightly cover the bowl after mixing the dough and let it rise in the refrigerator.If you schedule doesn’t allow you to bake the bread after the long rise overnight (small yeast amount), you can put the bowl, tightly covered, in the fridge for up to 2 days.