Bellissima Pizza Dough

Bellissima Pizza Dough

This pizza dough recipe is courtesy of Dawn Thomas, co-founder of Rouxbe.com (the world’s leading online culinary school).  Dawn titles this recipe as Basic Pizza Dough, but I’ve taken the liberty of re-titling it as “Bellissima Pizza Dough” for a very good reason.  In Italian, “bellissima” means exceptionally beautiful, and this pizza dough is exactly that…exceptionally beautiful!  By using either of the freshly-milled Black Fox Flour Hard Red Spring semi-whole grain or Red Fife semi-whole grain flours, this dough is magical in texture and aroma.  When it’s baked, things come alive; the crust bubbles beautifully, and the flavour is so incredible.  You’ll never look at pizza the same way again! 

Here’s the ingredients that will start you on this incredible flavourful journey…

1 ¼ cups lukewarm water (300 ml)

½ teaspoon sugar (2 g)

2 teaspoons instant dry yeast (10 g)

2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil (30 ml)

3 ¾ cups of fresh-milled Black Fox Flour Hard Red Spring semi-whole grain flour (or Red Fife semi-whole grain flour) (500g)

2 teaspoons of sea salt (10 g)

To make the dough, add the lukewarm water to a large bowl, along with the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over top and wait until it dissolves. Pour in the olive oil, sprinkle in about half of the flour and stir to combine. Then add the remaining flour and the salt. Stir a few times to combine the ingredients.

Use your hands to bring the dough together and then turn it out onto the counter. Knead the dough for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until it feels and looks smooth.

Portion the dough and form each portion into a round. Lightly coat each round with oil and place onto a tray. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature until it doubles in size (about 1 hour).

Note: This can also be done overnight in the refrigerator. By letting the dough slowly rise in the refrigerator, the dough will develop more flavor. To do this, place the dough into a very lightly-oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in the refrigerator overnight.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 hours prior to making pizza so the dough can come to room temperature. Once you take the dough out of the refrigerator, punch it down, portion and shape it into rounds as described above. Cover and let the dough rest until it comes to room temperature.

Shaping the dough and baking the pizza

Place the pizza stone into a cold oven then preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the stone heat for at least 30 minutes before baking your first pizza.

Note: You can also bake the pizzas on the barbecue. Place the stone onto the grates and preheat your barbecue to the highest setting. Let the stone heat for about 15 minutes or so before baking your first pizza.

Place a piece of room temperature dough onto a lightly-floured counter. Press it into a flat round. Continue to press and turn the dough while stretching it. You can also hold the dough upright, rolling it between your fingers as you stretch it. The weight of the dough will help to stretch it. You can also roll out the dough using a rolling pin.

Sprinkle the peel with cornmeal. Gently transfer the dough to the peel and proceed with your pizza recipe.

Thanks again to Dawn Thomas and Rouxbe.com for this amazing recipe.  Please let me know how things work out, and particularly stories of your adventures.

Kevin Pettersen

Founder, Black Fox Flour