Roberta’s Pizza Dough Recipe (2024)

Recipe from Carlo Mirarchi, Brandon Hoy, Chris Parachini and Katherine Wheelock

Adapted by Sam Sifton

Roberta’s Pizza Dough Recipe (1)

Total Time
20 minutes plus at least 3 hours' rising
Rating
5(15,615)
Notes
Read community notes

This recipe, adapted from Roberta’s, the pizza and hipster haute-cuisine utopia in Bushwick, Brooklyn, provides a delicate, extraordinarily flavorful dough that will last in the refrigerator for up to a week. It rewards close attention to weight rather than volume in the matter of the ingredients, and asks for a mixture of finely ground Italian pizza flour (designated “00” on the bags and available in some supermarkets, many specialty groceries and always online) and regular all-purpose flour. As ever with breads, rise time will depend on the temperature and humidity of your kitchen and refrigerator.

Our Greatest Pizza Recipes —Sam Sifton

Featured in: A Little Pizza Homework

Learn: How to Make Pizza

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Ingredients

Yield:Two 12-inch pizzas

  • 153grams 00 flour (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon)
  • 153grams all-purpose flour (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons)
  • 8grams fine sea salt (1 teaspoon)
  • 2grams active dry yeast (¾ teaspoon)
  • 4grams extra-virgin olive oil (1 teaspoon)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

518 calories; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 104 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 324 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Roberta’s Pizza Dough Recipe (2)

Preparation

Make the recipe with us

  1. Step

    1

    In a large mixing bowl, combine flours and salt.

  2. Step

    2

    In a small mixing bowl, stir together 200 grams (a little less than 1 cup) lukewarm tap water, the yeast and the olive oil, then pour it into flour mixture. Knead with your hands until well combined, approximately 3 minutes, then let the mixture rest for 15 minutes.

  3. Step

    3

    Knead rested dough for 3 minutes. Cut into 2 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Place on a heavily floured surface, cover with dampened cloth, and let rest and rise for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature or for 8 to 24 hours in the refrigerator. (If you refrigerate the dough, remove it 30 to 45 minutes before you begin to shape it for pizza.)

  4. Step

    4

    To make pizza, place each dough ball on a heavily floured surface and use your fingers to stretch it, then your hands to shape it into rounds or squares. Top and bake.

Ratings

5

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15,615

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Cathy Onderick

I made lots of pizza dough recipes but for me, this one is the very best by far. I let it rise in refrigerator overnight and perhaps that is the secret. I usually double the recipe, use two and freeze two. When using a frozen dough, I thaw in fridge overnight and take out and leave on counter for a couple of hours and it tastes like just made. This dough is so easy to stretch by hand.....it is fantastic and tastes great. this is truly a keeper for me.

Cathy Onderick

Forgot to mention that I do use a kitchen aid mixer with dough hook using the recommended kneading times suggested by recipe. Works out great every time.

Samantha

This recipe is great! It instantly became my go-to for amazing pizza. After many batches and some experimentation I've found that 300g king Arthur bread flour, in place of the 2 types of flour, is quite acceptable if you can't find/don't have 00.

Fred Rickson

The idea of 153 grams flour (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons) of this and that is really silly when one considers that you can pick up 10-15 grams from your "heavily floured surface." Then you need more water. I guess newbies need guidance, but just stick to nice round numbers...pizza dough isn't rocket science, and this recipe really isn't anything special. Just enjoy the process....you'll be fine.

Celeste Resh

It has to be the Antico Molino tipo "00" flour--this is not only great tasting, nice textured dough but also the easiest I've ever worked with. After following Sifton's instructions for making pizza, I next divided the dough into smaller balls and tried Mark Bittman's idea of pan-frying the individual size pizza breads which I then topped and finished in a few minutes on a pizza stone in a 500 oven. The combination of the dough recipe and the pan-frying produced the best pizza I've ever made.

Joyce

I preheat the oven to 550F for 45 minutes to an hour, with the pizza stone on the middle shelf. I make the pizza on top of a piece of parchment paper, then use a peel under the parchment to transfer the whole thing onto the stone in the oven. After about 5 minutes I lift the pizza slightly with the peel and carefully pull out the parchment so that the pizza is directly on the stone. Then I let it finish baking, another 5-10 minutes. You have to watch. Doesn't stick and crispy every time.

Fred Rickson

If you are new, or not, to hand mixing dough for anything, you need an "Original Danish Dough Whisk." At ten bucks or less, it changed my dough mixing life forever. I have no clue why it works so well, but you put everything into your mixing bowl, and stir/scrape with this tool. When mixed, dump the dough onto a board, knead till it feels right, and your done. Trust me; a stout wooden handle with a couple of goofy wire circles will be your mixing friend forever.

Ruth Ann

As with all recipes in the Times , my favorite part is reading the comments. I've learned so much about human nature and of course cooking. I own a pizza franchise and I love this recipe, make it at home frequently.

Susan and Nick

I had my 16 year old son make this dough last night. We used all all purpose flour. We let it rise in fridge overnight and tonight we cooked. Best pizza dough we have ever had. And yes we polished off both of them :) we didn't use a stone. We cooked them both in oiled pans at 500 degrees. So so good. Thank you.

brigitt

I love making my pizza on the grill with a stone and had the sticking problem you describe. I solved this by first shaping my pizza crust on parchment paper. Using a pizza paddle, I transfer the dough-on-parchment to the very hot stone and close the lid. After a couple of minutes after the dough has baked a bit, I pull the parchment out from underneath. Finish baking as usual. This works like a charm for me.

Lilly

This pizza dough will not let you down! Tips: don't let the dough rise at room temp for longer than 4-5 hours, it will become difficult to stretch and tough. If you're going any longer than 4 hours, put it in the fridge. Flour the surfaces you're working on with the 00 flour, or you'll add too much AP flour inadvertently. This dough does great for pizza on a baking stone in the oven at 500 or on the grill. Also a good base for focaccia.

Jon

No peel? Cook it in an iron skillet instead - no need to transfer it, no need to form a rim of dough around the edge... pan pizza is easy, easier than non-pan, imo.

Cook it by eye, in the hottest oven possible, it's done when the cheese is how you like it.

Michael Edwards

I share your pain Pat. Earlier today I stumbled upon Sam's recipe for smothered pork chops, which sounded interesting. Then I discovered there's meat in it! So disappointed. Would definitely not recommended it to vegans.

DPChurch

I let half of the dough rise at room termperature and used it the same day. I refrigerated the rest and let it slowly rise in the fridge and used it the next day. Both pizzas were very good but the extra, slow fermenting time was definitely even better.

Joyce

Yes, once it's cut into 2 pieces I sometimes take one piece and put it in an oiled ziplock bag and put that in the freezer. When needed, thaw in fridge overnight, then bring it up to room temp for a few hours before shaping into crust.

Emily

I have made this pizza dough so many times I just about know it by heart. Such a flexible recipe. I love adding fresh chopped herbs, shredded parmesean or pizza seasoning from Trader Joe's into the dough to add more flavor. I always double it - you'll want extra!

shipii

In the oven cooking now. Dough looks beautiful, but can anyone advise on how you make this for a family? Was so disappointed to realize I have 2 very small pizzas. My teen could eat both easily! Double recipe to make 2 large pizzas for a family? Did I not stretch dough enough? Please help! Teens are eating me out of house & home!

Emily

I always double or triple the recipe so you can have tons extra. Nothing worse than realizing hours too late you don't have enough!

Jay

Came out good with airy crust in my home oven, but the dough did not brown. I am guessing this is because of the 00 flour?

Karen

What temp? How long ????

HS

I've made this now for years and it is well worth paying attention the day before. I usually don't get a full 24 hours since I tend to make the dough after dinner....so maybe 20. That means I try to remember to take it out an hour before I start making pizzas. One question: I wonder how this would work with subbing in some atta flour in place of the all purpose flour...maybe 30 grams or so?

KS

Far too much water for the amount of flour. Be prepared to add a lot of flour so you don’t have a sticky dough mess. 150 grams of water will give you a tacky dough.

GP

This is an important detail. I think you need to knead the dough by hand for longer than the three minutes. It's best to use a mixer. The problem is that if the dough isn't kneaded long enough, the gluten doesn't have time to form and then you get a pizza that is more brittle and less chewy and more difficult to work with when stretching it out.

Robbie

Been using this recipe for years, and for me it is perfect. I use weight for everything —including the water (200 grams). I suspect people complaining about their dough being too wet or too sticky are adding a full cup of water, or just too much water. I just had this thought while making the dough now. I weighed 200 grams water in a measuring cup on my scale, and it was roughly halfway between 3/4 and 1 cup. Best to measure all ingredients (including water) by WEIGHT.

Michael

HELP!! The recipe calls for 2 grams of yeast or 3/4 of a tablespoon. But, according to Google, 2 grams of yeast is 2/5 or a tablespoon. I am new to cooking and baking and continue to struggle with weights and measures in recipes that conflict with each other. Thanks in advance.

HS

Getting a kitchen scale is a huge advantage. They are not that expensive. Where I live it is dry and I use 210 g of water. Being able to be precise is what the scale lets me do.

MSmith

Do you wrap the dough tightly if you put in fridge or put in bowl with wrapping on top of bowl?

ditch chicken

Made with North Dakota mills bread flower in substitute of 00.

chris

How long does it need to rise before freezing?

Pat V.

I’ve made this twice, rising it on a well floured breadboard. It dries out and sticks to the damp cloth. The second time I made it, it quit rising. I usually let my dough rise in an oiled bowl. It was a disaster.

MyKaila

9/10. So good and fairly easy! I took the advice from a few reviews and let my KA knead the dough instead of by hand (just being lazy) and I also used the parchment trick for the first 5 mins of baking. Will make again! If I make a bulk and freeze, should I freeze dough in the proofed ball or should I roll out into dough?

James

I use 00 flour for the entire batch. It allows for a bit more flexibility as it can absorb more water. It also produces crispy exterior with a light interior. I also take each dough ball and store it in a lightly oiled container (32oz ziplock container). If I’m doing pizza the next day, I’ll let the dough rise for 1-2 hours on the countertop before putting in the refrigerator to rest. It’s usually 12-16 hours before serving and the dough is perfect by then.

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Roberta’s Pizza Dough Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good pizza dough? ›

There are many tricks to achieving a tasty, homemade pizza dough that rises into a beautiful pizza crust, such as making sure your ingredients are at right temperature, using half bread flour for a stronger dough and half all-purpose flour for a nice rise, substituting honey for sugar to help caramelize the crust and ...

Can you freeze Roberta's pizza dough? ›

I use a cookie sheet for my and do not divide the dough. You can still use 1/2 the recipe on a cookie sheet, for a smaller pizza. This dough also freezes well. This is the perfect time to put in a ziplock back and pop into the freeze.

Why do you put vinegar in pizza dough? ›

Vinegar: Strengthens gluten and helps dough to rise higher. May enhance yeast activity in small amounts, or is at least unharmful. Retards yeast in large quantities. From a teaspoon to a tablespoon per loaf is typical, depending on the flavor desired and the vinegar being used.

What not to do when making pizza dough? ›

The Most Common Mistakes When Making Pizza
  1. Not Letting the Dough Rest. ...
  2. Not Kneading the Dough for Long Enough. ...
  3. Using a Rolling Pin to Form the Dough. ...
  4. Overloading Pizza Toppings. ...
  5. Not Letting the Pizza Cook for Long Enough.

What is the most important ingredient in pizza dough? ›

Flour is the main ingredient in pizza dough, and the type you use can have a big effect on the end result. All-purpose flour will work fine, but if you want a chewier crumb and a better hole structure, you should consider buying yourself some high protein bread flour.

What is the best flour for pizza dough? ›

Use Tipo 0 or Tipo 00 flour. Tipo is a grading of flour on the Italian flour scale. And these flours have just the right amount of protein content - around 12.5% for pizza baking.

What is the best flour for pizza? ›

For Crispy and Chewy Pizza Crust, Use 00 Flour

00 flour is finely ground Italian flour that contains about 12% protein, or 12% gluten. It's the traditional flour used to make Neapolitan-style pizza. Since its gluten content is similar to bread flour, it also produces a pizza crust with chew.

Should I let pizza dough rise before freezing? ›

Here's how to freeze pizza dough. You can freeze any kind of pizza dough in any quantity — just let it fully rise before you freeze it and then divide it into pieces portioned for single pizzas. The dough can be frozen for up to three months and just needs to be thawed in the fridge overnight before you use it!

Why does my pizza dough keep springing back? ›

Keep your pizza dough on the counter where it belongs. Let it rest: A little shrinking is normal as you stretch your dough. If your pizza dough is quickly snapping back or difficult to stretch, your dough is too tight. Cover your dough with plastic wrap and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

How long should you rest pizza dough? ›

Rub a little olive oil or sprinkle a little flour onto your hands and shape the dough into a ball; wrap in plastic. Let rest at room temperature until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. Or, if time is tight, let it rest at least 20 minutes before proceeding.

Why do you put olive oil in pizza dough? ›

The goal of adding oil to pizza dough is to improve the texture of the dough and flavor the finished crust. The oil will specifically: Making the dough softer will improve its capacity to stretch when rolled out. If you don't use any oil, the dough will pull apart and produce holes.

What does adding milk to pizza dough do? ›

Did you know the protein and sugars in milk actually help strengthen pizza dough while baking and create a beautiful, golden-brown crust?

Why do you put milk powder in pizza dough? ›

Powdered milk also contributes protein, a small amount of fat and calcium, and in, sufficient quantity, should help produce a softer crumb in the crust. I would guess that you would need something like 4-5% (by weight of flour) to get a flavor impact in the crust.

How do you make pizza dough rise better? ›

Pizza dough loves warmth, so if you can find a way to add some extra heat, your dough will rise faster. One way to do this is to preheat your oven to the lowest setting (usually around 200 degrees Fahrenheit) and then turn it off. Place your pizza dough in the warm oven for 10-15 minutes until it begins to rise.

What adds flavor to pizza dough? ›

“What should I add to pizza dough for more flavor?” The most common answer in the US is garlic powder or garlic paste. I've also seen oregano or basil added to the dough.

What are the best conditions for pizza dough to rise? ›

Nail the sweet spot — warm enough to rise at a decent rate, yet cool enough to develop flavor — and you're golden. Studies have shown that the optimum temperature for yeast to grow and flavor to develop is 75°F to 78°F.

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