Best 7 Chef John Pizza Dough Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S PIZZA RUSTICA

Steps:

• Combine flour, salt, butter, and olive oil for the crust in a large bowl. Blend butter into the flour with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour-butter mixture, pour egg into the well, and mix with a fork until egg is mixed in, about 1 minute. Add cold water and mix briefly with a fork. Switch to mixing with your hands and press mixture into a ball. If it seems dry, sprinkle in some more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until dough comes together.
• Transfer dough to a work surface and press into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for at least 1 hour.
• While the dough is resting, combine drained ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Pecorino Romano cheese, salt, black pepper, beaten eggs, cooked Italian sausage, smoked ham, salami, and pepperoni for the filling. Mix thoroughly until extremely well combined; don't worry about overmixing. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Rub a 9-inch springform pan with olive oil and dust with flour.
• Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut off 1/3 of the dough and set aside for the top crust. Roll out the remaining dough for the bottom crust, using only as much flour as needed, into a 15-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and transfer to the prepared pan. Tuck the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, being careful not to stretch it. Remove any excess dough, dampen it with water, and use it to fill in where needed.
• Transfer filling into the pan, press firmly into the edges to ensure there are no air pockets, and smooth out the top.
• Roll remaining dough into a circle that's slightly wider than the pan. Roll dough onto the rolling pin and transfer to the pan. Position the top crust properly and press to seal it with the side edges.
• Mix egg and water for egg wash together in a small bowl.
• Brush egg wash on top of dough to moisten entire surface. Trim off excess dough if desired. Fold the side dough down from the pan edges onto the top crust and crimp edges with your fingertips until fully sealed. Brush once more with egg wash.
• Place in the center of the preheated oven, and immediately reduce the heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake until top crust is a beautiful golden brown, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the ring and let cool another 15 minutes before slicing into wedges.

EASY HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Stir whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt, sugar, olive oil, and warm water with a spatula until formed into a sticky ball of dough that pulls away from sides of a large bowl, about 3-4 minutes.
• Cover the bowl with a light cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) for 18 hours, until doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 550 degrees F (280 degrees C). Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal.
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle with more flour. Form the dough into a rectangle, and cut it into four equal parts. Shape each piece into a ball, stretching and tucking the dough to create a smooth surface, adding more flour if needed. Cover the dough balls with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
• To shape the dough, sprinkle the surface with flour and lightly pat flat. Use a rolling pin to form a thin disk about 9 inches in diameter.
• Transfer the formed crust to the prepared baking sheet and top as desired. Bake on the bottom rack for 4 minutes, move to the middle rack and bake for 5-6 minutes more minutes, until the bottom is crispy and the top is lightly browned. Move to cooling rack to cool slightly before serving.

CHEF JOHN'S POURABLE PIZZA

Steps:

• Place flour in mixing bowl with dry yeast, salt, honey, olive oil, and warm water. Whisk together for about 5 minutes. This will be a very thin batter-like dough. Cover and let rise 1 1/2 hours. Dough should be bubbly. Stir with a ladle to eliminate the bubbles.
• Generously oil a cast-iron skillet with olive oil off heat. Pour batter in a squeeze bottle or zip-top bag with a bottom corner snipped. Slowly pour the batter into the skillet starting from the center of the pan and working in circles toward the edge. Try to avoid mixing batter with the oil. If small bubbles of oil appear on the surface, use the tip of a paring knife to gently stir them into the dough.
• Place pan over medium-high heat. Wait for the dough to form bubbles over the entire top surface and the crust starts to dry out a bit. Flip over and continue cooking one side and the next. The bubbly side should be dry and achieve a golden brown color; the bottom should be well browned, about 4 to 5 minutes total per side. Doneness times will depend on how thickly the batter was poured. Remove from heat.
• Spread with pizza sauce and top with your favorite pizza toppings: mozzarella cheese, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, pepperoni, etc. Try to avoid topping too heavily.
• Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
• Place pizza under broiler until toppings are cooked, 3 to 4 minutes.

DETROIT-STYLE PIZZA

Steps:

• Pour warm water into the bowl of stand mixer; mix in yeast and sugar and let dissolve. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt, and bread flour. Knead mixture together with a dough hook attachment until dough is very smooth, soft, and elastic.
• Drizzle remaining olive oil over the bottom of a 10x14-inch Detroit-style pizza pan and spread around with your fingers. Place dough in the center; pull and stretch into a roughly rectangular shape with oiled fingers. Cover and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Prepare sauce and cheese in the meantime.
• Combine marinara sauce, oregano, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer to fully hydrate the oregano and garlic, about 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 500 to 550 degrees F (260 to 288 degrees C).
• Dice Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese into small cubes. Toss lightly to mix together.
• Rub fingertips with some olive oil from the pan. Press out air from the dough while stretching and pushing into a rectangle that goes all the way to the edges of the pan. Stretch up the sides about 1/2 inch or so.
• Lay most of the pepperoni onto the dough. Scatter cheese cubes evenly on top, making sure to fully cover all the edges where dough meets the pan. Ladle sauce on top in 3 long strips. Arrange remaining pepperoni over the sauce.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pizza is somewhere between golden brown and golden black, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.
• Very carefully slide pizza onto a cutting board using a spatula. Cut into individual pieces using the lines of sauce as a guide.

CHICAGO DEEP-DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Pour water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Sprinkle in yeast and let dissolve, about 10 minutes. Add olive oil, melted butter, sugar, salt, cornmeal, and most of the flour. Knead, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally and adding more flour as needed, until smooth and elastic.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead in extra flour if needed. Roll into a ball and place in a bowl greased with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil. Cover with a plate and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, 1 to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, let pizza sauce simmer in a pot over low heat until very thick, 60 to 90 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Poke dough to deflate and turn out onto your work surface. Press and stretch out dough into a round shape 3 to 4 inches larger than a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Brush skillet with 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place dough in the skillet; stretch and pull to evenly distribute it over the bottom and sides.
• Lay provolone cheese over the bottom of the crust. Scatter fresh mozzarella on top. Add Italian sausage and firm mozzarella. Ladle pizza sauce generously on top. Grate Parmesan cheese on top. Fold the edges of the crust in towards the center to seal in the sides. Drizzle crust and center with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until crust sounds hollow and pizza is beautifully browned, about 35 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

BUFFALO-STYLE PIZZA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add tomato paste, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, basil, oregano, salt, and sugar. Saute until the tomato paste starts to caramelize on the bottom of the pan, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Pour in water and whisk to combine; bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces to your desired thickness. Turn off the heat and reserve until needed.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Generously grease a sheet pan with olive oil, rubbing some on your fingers as well.
• Press, stretch, and pull pizza dough until it fills the prepared pan, going all the way to the corners. If the dough stops stretching, let it rest for 5 minutes before resuming.
• Top dough with cooled sauce, spreading all the way to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle on mozzarella cheese and add pepperoni. Place the pan on the stove over a high flame, and slowly move it around to evenly apply the heat, until you hear it starting to sizzle, about 1 minute.
• Transfer into the lower center of the preheated oven and bake until cheese is beautifully browned and pepperoni is charred, about 20 minutes. Slice and serve.

FAMOUS CALIFORNIA PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine yeast, honey, and 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl with a whisk. Let stand to dissolve, about 10 minutes.
• Add salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, remaining 3/4 cup warm water, and 1 cup flour to the mixture and stir until a batter forms. Add another 1 cup flour; stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup more flour and combine.
• Turn dough out onto a surface dusted with 1/4 cup flour. Knead until a smooth, fairly firm, slightly sticky dough is achieved, adding more flour as needed.
• Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board and pat down with your hand. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Stretch and fold each piece down and under, tucking as you go, to form pizza dough rounds.
• Cover with a towel and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Dust a baking sheet with cornmeal.
• Transfer dough rounds to a lightly floured board and press each piece out to desired thickness, starting in the center, until 8 to 10 inches wide. Form a crust shape around the outer edges with your fingertips.
• Transfer one round of pizza dough to the prepared baking sheet and brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Top with any sauce and toppings you like.
• Bake in the lower rack of the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Move to the center of the oven and continue to bake until golden, about 10 minutes more. Repeat to bake remaining pizzas.