Dough Recipes | Toppings Recipes | Pretzels

A Few of our Go-To Dough Recipes.

PIZZA-PORTA 650F-700F DOUGH

Ingredients:

715 grams of bread flour (King Arthur)

100 grams - 00 Flour

14 grams Sugar

15 grams Sea salt

3 grams instant yeast (bread machine yeast is best)

530 grams water (filtered or bottled) Yup, weigh the water.

14 grams Olive Oil

Semolina to dust peel

Divide into 6 - 8 oz dough balls

Instructions:

Pour the flour into a standing mixer's bowl. Using the dough hook attachment, start the mixer on low. Add yeast, sugar, and Olive Oil. Add 1/2 of the water and then add the salt. Finally, add the balance of the water. Mix with the dough hook until this forms a ball and pulls away from the mixing bowl. Mix for 3 minutes   

Scrape dough out of the bowl and knead on a floured surface 2-3 times. Let dough sit under an inverted bowl for 5 minutes - It will come out much smoother.

Cut the large ball into 6 equal dough balls (235g) using a knife or a dough scraper. Roll each pizza dough ball into itself like you are rolling up a sock and form a smooth ball.  Place each one seam side down onto a flat cookie sheet or dough box, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 



PIZZA-PORTA OVERNIGHT DOUGH

This is a Roman style pizza dough. The oil and sugar add more crunch than a Neapolitan crust. This recipe is specifically formulated to cook at 500F-650F for the Pizza-Porta. This recipe must rise overnight. Scroll down if you need a recipe for tonight.

Ingredients:

680 grams of bread flour (King Arthur)

14 grams Sugar

12 grams Sea salt

3 grams instant yeast (bread machine yeast is best)

442 grams water (filtered or bottled) Yup, weigh the water.

14 grams Olive Oil

Semolina to dust peel

Divide into 5 - 8 oz dough balls

Instructions:

Pour the flour, sugar, and yeast, into a standing mixer's bowl.  Using the dough hook attachment, start the mixer on low and mix until the dry ingredients blend.  Add most of the water and mix 1 minute. Next, add the salt and the olive oil.  Mix with the dough hook until this forms a ball and pulls away from the mixing bowl.  The remaining water can be added or left out depending on the consistency.  I have found variability due to the flour.  It should form a ball and all load on the dough hook within 2 minutes. Once everything comes together into a ball, mix for 3 minutes. Adjust water and flour until you get a dough that is just slightly drier than sticky (you will figure this out). Dough will look a bit shaggy at this point.  

Scrape dough out of the bowl and knead 2-3 times. Let dough sit under an inverted bowl for 3-5 minutes - It will come out much smoother.

Cut the large ball into 5 equal dough balls using a knife or a dough scraper. Roll each pizza dough ball into itself like you are rolling up a sock and form a smooth ball - pinch the bottom shut.  Place each one pinched side down onto a flat cookie sheet or dough box, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 



Forming:

Remove dough container from the refrigerator and allow it to reach near room temperature so that you can form pizza crusts.  Dust the dough balls if they are sticky – they should not stick to your hands.  It is critical that you do not break the outside skin that has formed – shaping should maintain the exterior surface.  Using your hands, press the center flat but leave a lip around the edges of the pizza. On a smooth floured surface, push the dough flat and slightly away from center, rotating after each stretch. Put cornmeal or semolina on the wooden peel and place the dough on the peel.  Shush the peel a little to be sure that it will slide before you add ingredients.  Any moisture on a metal peel will make the crust stick so you must flour and then add semolina on a metal peel.

Dress the pizza crust to your liking while it is on the peel, slide into your oven and bake immediately.

NOTES:

Please check out this BLOG for details about how cooking this recipe is important.

If you are new to Pizza cooking on the BGE or KJ, try this Q&A BLOG

PIZZA-PORTA HIGH TEMPERATURE DOUGH

Ingredients:

1. Starter Bread Flour.          120g

2. Starter Warm (95°F) water           240g

3. Starter Breadmaker Yeast                4g

4. Starter Sugar                                      4g

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5. Cold Water                        307g

6. Bread Flour.                      410g

7. 00 Flour                            325g

8. Salt                                       15g   

9. Olive Oil                                9g

Yield is 6 - 240g dough balls.

Instructions:

- Stir the first 4 ingredients into a bowl and let sit in a warm spot until it makes a light, foamy froth. It should take 10-15 minutes.

Mix the water, flours, salt, and oil in a stand mixer and then add the starter. Once the mixture starts forming a ball on the dough hook set a timer for 5 minutes. Let the ball mix for the duration.

Pour the entire ball on a counter and let rest covered for 15-20 minutes at room temperature. This will start the rising process which you will then retard in the refrigerator. You can separate the dough into balls before refrigerating, or after 24 hours. Dough is best after 48 hours in the refrigerator. Allow the aged dough balls to reach room temperature before stretching into pizzas.

OUR FAVORITE DAY-OF DOUGH

Dough - Start at 11:00 am

I bow to Ken Forkish for his excellent “Day of - Pizza Dough” from his book “The Elements Of Pizza” (a great book to have). I am paraphrasing his recipe a bit - but do follow the times and temperatures precisely.

Ingredients:

• 10 g of fine sea salt

• 0.5 g Yeast (yes, it is a tiny amount - 1/2 of a 1/4 teaspoon)

• 500 g Bread flour

• 350 g Water

1) Weigh 350g of water that is 100°F into your mixing bowl. Yup, weigh. Stir in the salt and then top the water with yeast. Let sit for 1 min and then swish around to mix. Add the 500g of bread flour while mixing (low speed if you are using a stand mixer) and mix for 1-2 minutes until the ingredients are all incorporated. This dough will be shaggy and not very pretty - let it rest for 20 minutes.

2) Transfer the dough to a smooth floured surface (not wood) and dust it with flour. Knead the dough for about 1 minute by folding in half, pressing down, turn 90 degrees, and fold in half again - repeat. When complete and dough is smooth and has some body to it fold it into a ball and place seam-side down into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 90 minutes.

3) Make dough balls by dividing the dough into 4 equal parts about 212g each. Take each one and knead it 1 or 2 times and then roll it into itself like you are rolling up a sock. You want a smooth top that has a little surface tension. Pinch the open-end shut and put that part down into a sealed, oiled container. These will rise, so put them in something that allows them to be spaced apart and to have a little headroom.

4) Put this container aside for 4 to 6 hours at room temperature. If you get rained out, you can put these in the refrigerator after this rise and they will keep for a couple of days.

5) My addition - While you are heating up the Pizza-Porta, stick the container in the refrigerator and the dough will be slightly chilled and easier to handle.

6) Form the pizza dough as per the recipe above.

AUTHENTIC NEOPOLITAN DOUGH

If you want to make the ultimate authentic pizza in your Pizza-Porta, this is the dough. True Neopolitan pizza has some characteristics that you should be aware of. It is very sensitive to handling, it will brown in a particular way - but only at high temperatures, and it will not be stiff on the bottom after cooking. The point on your slice will droop when you go to eat it. All of this is part of the joy when you get it right.

Ingredients: Makes 5 dough balls

• 700 g Italian 00 flour - Bread flour would work, but is not authentic.

• 476 g Water

• 18 g of fine sea salt

• 0.3 g Breadmakers Yeast (yes, it is a tiny amount - use a half-full 1/4 teaspoon)

The process is key to this dough. Warm the water to 100°F and add it to the mixer. Add the salt and swish to let it dissolve completely, then add yeast and let it dissolve for a minute. Turn on the mixer and begin adding the flour a cup at a time until you have a mass of dough that builds on the dough hook. (adjust flour if too wet). Once it has formed a ball, set a timer for 5 minutes and mix with a dough hook on low (2) for this amount of time. Scrape out dough onto a counter and cover for 20 minutes. The dough should be shaggy and rough, but have a firm structure. After 20 minutes the dough should be soft and smooth. Knead and place in a sealed container (with headroom) to bulk rise overnight. The next day, divide into 5 balls and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

When ready to stretch, let the dough reach near room temperate. Take extreme care to not crush the edge so that the air does not get pushed out. After you have ingredients on the dough, cook at high temperatures. The stone should be hotter than 650°F and the dome should be over 700°F.

Pizza Toppings Recipes

There are hundreds of great pizzas out there.  I have included a few here that we have served at events and our own back yard. This page should get you started. All pizzas shown were of course cooked in a Pizza-Porta. 

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Fig and Pig - or - Girl's night out

Great flavors combine to make a fantastic unconventional pizza.  

Start with a thin base of EVOO (extra virgin Olive Oil)

Spread or put pats of Fig Preserves (select a less sweet version like white fig)

Dollops of cheese - 1/2 Goat Cheese and 1/2 Fresh Mozzarella

Toasted Pecans (girls night out) - or - Proscuitto (Fig and Pig)

After cooking, top with Arugula and Balsamic glaze

Thank you Carrie for the moniker!

Simple Margherita

The classic Neapolitan pizza.  (The pizza to judge a pizza chef) 

Tomato sauce base

Fresh mozzarella

Basil leaves (added before or after the cook)

EVOO drizzle

There are variations = A white version with EVOO instead of the tomato sauce.  Some people prefer chopped tomatoes. 

This is Kaylee's special pizza

We had a friend of the family over and she showed us this awesome combination.

Spread a base of EVOO on the raw crust

Fresh Mozzarella

Sweet Italian Sausage

Dabs of Riccotta Cheese 

Raw spinach leaves

Finish with some ground Parmesan 

Rosemary Chicken White

We started making this pizza years ago and it just keeps impressing. The aroma of this pizza cooking may be the best part. If you go light on toppings the crust will bubble and shine through.

Base of EVOO

Roasted garlic - 4-5 cloves or 6-7 if you are adventurous

Fresh Mozzarella

White Onions

Chopped fresh rosemary

Shredded chicken

Optional - ricotta cheese, and/or, sun dried tomatoes, and/or roasted tomatoes  

Bam - You have to make Pepperoni

The basic pepperoni pizza is just shredded mozzarella and pepperoni. If you want to make a memorable version, here are some ideas.

Use Capocolo, Soppressata, or other salami variations.  Or, getting pepperoni from the deli sliced thin makes a huge difference.

For cheese, you can choose additional variants that will add a bit of fun to your creation.  Pecorino, Asiago, Fontina, or even a little cheddar can help create your trademark Pepperoni variant.

Finally, note that the pepperoni in this photo is on top of the cheese. This will make the pepperoni a bit crunchy. Experiment with pepperoni under the cheese. Another variant I like is to cover the dough with cheese and put dollops of tomato sauce.  Take care overloading with pepperoni as it can be a bit too oily.  

Tomato Pie

This is a recipe that our great friend and star photographer Tim created.  This is a decadent cheese with tomato and onion.

Light coating of EVOO

Caramelized onions 

Burrata Cheese (try the version with black truffles) - A 2-3 oz ball.  Add some fresh mozzarella for additional coverage

Roasted Tomatoes

Butternut Squash

A great fall pizza with beautiful colors, tastes and textures.

EVOO base on the raw crust

Fresh Mozzarella cheese

Ricotta cheese

Caramelized onions

Butternut squash roasted with butter and salt and pepper

Garnish with Arugula after cooking

Snickers Pie

Send us your favorite and we will feature it here! 

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Real-Deal Soft Pretzels

I am a huge fan of big, soft pretzels. I had tried them a couple of times but did not get them exactly right. This new recipe and more importantly the careful workflow, really turned out great. Thank you to Nils for tutoring me on how to form and manage pretzels. Give this a try in the Pizza-Porta and let me know how it turns out.

Recipe:

13 Grams of Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons of Lard (easier to scoop than weigh)

7 Grams Instant yeast

720 Grams Bread Flour

472 Grams water (100 degrees F)

21 Grams of Kosher Salt (don’t substitute)

Course Sea Salt or Pretzel Salt (not Kosher) for topping

Other Materials needed:

1/2 cup food grade Lye (Amazon is helpful) - More on this below

3 12” pizza pans

Parchment

Gloves

Instructions:

Dough

Mix half of the flour with brown sugar, lard, yeast and warm water until all incorporated (by hand or with dough hook). Add Salt and remaining flour and mix until dough comes together into a shaggy ball. Rest. Knead dough on countertop for 4-5 minutes until it becomes firm and smooth. Cut to make 12 - 100 gram pieces. Roll each of these into an initial log about 10” long and let them rest at room temperature, covered for 8-10 minutes. Get a couple of cookie sheets greased and ready while they are resting.

Form Pretzels

Take each dough and roll it into a 21” long tapered log - Fat in the middle and 1/4” thin at the ends. Then treat it like a mini jump rope for a few revolutions and cross your hands over so that there is a fat dough center and the ends are criss-crossed and can be placed over to form a pretzel shape. Once you get the rhythm this is a fun step. Carefully arrange each pretzel on the greased cookie sheet. After all 12 are on the sheets, let them rise for 30 minutes under plastic wrap at room temperature. Then, place the cookie sheets in the refrigerator for at least one hour. (longer is okay)

While waiting, cut parchment paper circles to fit 3 - 12” pizza pans.

The Scary part

Yes, the next step involves putting your beautiful, pale pretzels into a bath that is volatile and dangerous and can be used as drain cleaner.* You can choose to use baking soda instead, and your pretzels will taste alright, but they will only darken to look like French bread. Lye is dangerous and damages aluminum and skin - go ahead and wear gloves, glasses, use tools, and be very careful. There is a chemical reaction in the oven that makes the lye safe to eat in the correct concentration. Put 10 cups of room temperature (not hot) water in a glass bowl and slowly add the 1/2 cup lye (20:1 ratio). Do not put lye in the bowl first. Stir to completely dissolve all the lye. Gently lower each pretzel into the lye water and make sure both sides are exposed to the lye for 15-20 seconds. Place the pretzels 4 to a pan on the 12” parchment-covered pizza pans. See photo.

Cooking

Set up the Pizza-Porta with a single stone or double rack with plate setter under and get temperature stabilized at 475F-500F degrees. Take each pan of pretzels and sprinkle pretzel salt or sea salt to decorate. Put a deep slice across the fat bottom part of the pretzel with a razor blade or super sharp knife just as you are putting them in the oven. Place into the Pizza-Porta and cook until they are dark brown in color (check after 6 minutes, total time 12-16 minutes) Turn if they are cooking unevenly. Remove pan with a metal peel, and place each pretzel on a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy -

Serve hot with Mustard, Hot Honey, Butter, or sprinkle with Cheese

A couple of final notes on these pretzels:

Don’t miss the wonderful aroma while they are cooking.

I was not decorative with the sea salt - could have been better arranged for beauty.

A little smoke from a few chips dropped in is an option

The slit in the fat body of the pretzel needs to be deep and neat (use a razor blade)

This recipe had 12 huge pretzels ready in 30 minutes - great for a party!

Have fun, Make great…pretzels

*Lye enables the Maillard effect : “At its most basic, it is a heat-activated reaction between small sugars and amino acids. Dipping dough in lye alters the ratio of sugar and protein because lye breaks proteins present in the dough into smaller bits. Those are the small amino acids that then combine with sugars to create the flavor compounds in the pretzel's crust.’ PAULA FRIEDRICH - NPR