Food Processor Pizza Dough

5 from 1 vote

Mixing the dough in your food processor is fast and easy. No kneading required. Rise time is 1-2 hours (divided). You can also refrigerate or freeze the dough so it is very versatile.

Prep Time7

Cook Time10

Total Time2 17

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: slices

Calories: 157kcal

Author: Carolyn Hetke

Ingredients

600 grams all purpose flour equals 4 to 4/12 cups.
2 tsps instant yeast
1 ½ tsps salt
4 tsps sugar
4 Tbsps olive oil plus more for brushing out edge of crust
375 grams lukewarm water 1 ½ cups

Instructions

Start with 4 cups (600 grams) of flour and keep another ½ cup(75 grams) at your work surface to work in if the dough is too sticky. Add remaining dry ingredients in your food processor. Pulse a couple of times.
With the food processor running add the olive oil. Then pour the water in in a slow steady stream. Process for 30-60 seconds. Dough will lump up on one side of the processor and will look shaggy.
Transfer dough to your work surface. Work in some extra flour if needed till you can form a ball with the dough that doesn't stick to your hands.
Oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, brush more oil over the top of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until it has doubled. This will take 1-2 hours depending on how warm the area is where the dough is resting.
After the first rise is done, transfer the dough to your work surface. Use a bit of flour as necessary to work with the dough. Punch down the dough so there is no air left in it. Divide into 3 equal portions. Stretch the edges in 3 or 4 places and tuck under so the top has a smooth stretched surface and the seams are on the under side of the ball.
If you need to work this into your schedule, once the dough has risen, you can hold it in the fridge for a few hours or days. You will need to give the dough some time to come back to room temperature, so it might take a couple of hours or so before you can divide it for the second rise. See Note 1.
Place the balls on a tray a few inches apart and cover with a wet tea towel.
Allow dough to rise in a warm place another 30-60 minutes or so until it has doubled in size.
Take 3 pieces of parchment paper about 12" square so the pizza base will fit on them. Use a bit of flour from your workstation if necessary. With your fingers, press and stretch the dough from the center outward. Try to leave the outer edge a bit thicker to form an edge. Try not to crush or compress the dough as you are stretching it.
If you are using more than one pan adjust your oven racks to the upper and lower third of the oven. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Let the pan(s) you are going to cook the pizza on heat up with the oven.
Brush the outer edge of your pizza bases with olive oil to keep them moist during cooking. Add your sauce and toppings to the pizza base leaving ¼" of the outer edge bare. Use the parchment paper to slide the finished pizza onto the hot pizza stone(s) or pan(s).
Bake 10 minutes and check after 8 minutes. Crust should be golden brown and cheese melted. If you are using more than one pan rotate the pans top to bottom and back to front half way through the cooking.

Notes

Note 1: To hold the dough in the fridge, put the bowl of dough, undisturbed, in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap. Dough will hold for 3 days or so. If the dough deflates or continues to rise, it is not a problem. When ready to use, remove from fridge, divide into 3 equal portions and allow to rise until doubled. This may take 3 hours or more if the dough is fridge-cold. Try to find a good warm environment for this, like a warming drawer, or preheat your oven to 250 degrees, turn it off and let the dough rise undisturbed.

Note 2: To Freeze - after the first rise, divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Form either a ball or a log and wrap airtight. Freeze up to 3 months. To use: defrost in the fridge overnight and proceed with the second rise the same as for refrigerated dough.

Note 3: Nutrition assumes 6 slices per pizza and is per slice.

Wine Pairing

Wine matches will depend on your toppings, but a Chianti, Barbera, Valpolicella, Ripasso or Rhone blend are classic matches for tomato and meat toppings.

If you do a white pizza red will still work but you could also consider a Chardonnay, Soave or Sauvignon Blanc.

Nutrition