Poolish pizza dough is the latest addition to our homemade pizza journey.
As I mentioned recently, we have been working on a new method for pizza dough. NFL football season is our pizza season. Our homemade pizzas have always been good, but every year, we tweak some details and they are now better than ever.
Hubby was the driving force behind trying Poolish pizza dough. A preferment is the key. Allowing a mixture of yeast, flour, and water to sit creates so much flavor.
Elements
Flour: We currently use bread flour, but we recommend 00 flour if you want to spend extra. I happen to be a fan of whole wheat flour. My pizza dough uses whole wheat flour in the main dough.
Water: Yes, water is an essential ingredient! You may be surprised by how much pizza dough is in it.
Yeast: The leavening agent allows the dough to rise.
Salt: Add to taste.
Italian Seasoning & Garlic Powder: Optional for additional flavorings.
The Day Before
The process of making Poolish dough starts the day before. Using a kitchen scale, measure the flour, yeast, and water. Stir to combine and cover. We use two travel mugs with covers for our dough. A vertical container works well so the dough doesn’t dry out as much. Let the mixture sit undisturbed overnight.
Pizza Day
The next day, add the remaining flour, water, yeast, and salt to the dough.
Cover and allow the dough to rise for about 20 minutes.
After about 20 minutes, turn the dough onto an oiled surface. Wet or oil your hands to keep the dough from sticking to them. Knead the dough for a few minutes until a soft ball forms. Cover and allow to rise for about another 20 minutes. We flip the bowl over the top to cover it.
After about 20 minutes, oil up your hands, and then place the dough on a piece of parchment paper. Gently stretch it into a square or circle. Hubby does a nice circle, mine is more like a rectangle. 😉
Cover and allow to rise for another 20 minutes. We just use some large jelly roll pans placed upside down to cover the dough. Now is a good time to preheat the oven.
Pizza time! Now top the dough with sauce, desired topping, and cheese. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is browned to your liking. Bake at the highest temp your oven will do. You will want to trim excess parchment paper as it will often burn above 425℉. Alternatives to using parchment paper are, of course, to use the traditional coarse flour on a pizza peel and then slide it onto a stone or steel in the oven. You can also use a pizza pan, or cast iron frying pan. Aluminum foil also works but is more expensive than using parchment paper. If you are using foil or a pan, you may want to oil up the pan well.
Pull your pizza and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Resting helps the pizza stay together when you cut it.
His and her pizza! Mine is topped with peppers, red onion, black olives, mushrooms, and spinach or Kale. He typically uses turkey pepperoni, sausage, or both, along with mushrooms and peppers.
Enjoy!
Poolish Pizza
Ingredients
Poolish
- 65g flour
- 0.005g instant yeast
- 65g water
Main Dough
- 120g flour
- 3g instant yeast
- 65g water room temp
- 4g salt (optional)
Optional Addins
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- The day before, make the poolish by mixing the flour, water and a dash of yeast in a small vertical container to reduce exposed surface area. Cover the poolish and let sit at room temperature over night. Optionally drizzle/spray a little oil over the surface of the poolish to keep it from drying out.
- About an hour and 10 minutes before you want to bake your pizza, put the dry main dough ingredients in a bowl and mix them together. Mix the water and poolish a bit and then add it to the dry ingredients. Mix together until a dough ball forms. Cover the bowl.
- After 20 minutes, pull out the dough onto an oiled surface. Optionally, sprinkle some Italian seasoning and garlic powder on the dough. Wet or oil your hands and then stretch and fold the dough at least five times. Form the dough into a ball and cover with the upside down bowl.
- After 20 minutes, oil your hands and then stretch dough into a pizza crust on parchment paper. Cover the crust with sheet pan.
- Preheat the oven with baking stone to 525℉.
- Prepare your toppings and assemble your pizza.
- After 20 minutes, slide your pizza onto the stone and bake for 10 minutes at 525℉. You can use convection if you want your toppings to be more crispy.
- When your pizza is done, pull it from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting it.