How To Cook Pizza Over A Campfire ( Pizza Stones & Equipment needed )


campfire pizza

The stars are out, the crickets are chirruping, you have set up your camping spot and now, you’re ready to eat. One of the best things about going on a camping trip is experiencing dining in the great outdoors but most of us still want a hearty and delicious meal.

When you are camping, you might want to try your hand at a campfire pizza recipe and then good news is that just because you are out in the wild, it doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy your favourite pizza recipe. In fact, pizza has quickly become a camping staple for many adventurers, you just need to make sure that you have the right equipment.

In this post, we are going to be showing you one of the easiest campfire pizza recipes that is easy to make and a great food option for camping meals.

How Do You Cook Pizza On A Fire Pit?

While pizza may not be a traditional camping meal, it is certainly becoming a staple for families who might have a picky kid or who want some home comforts while they enjoy their camping trip.

Even if you decide to go for an adult meal that follows more traditional campfire recipes, with this easy to make campfire pizza, you won’t need to put yourself out.

What Do I Need To Make Campfire Pizza?

The great thing about campfire pizza is that you don’t need a whole host of pizza ingredients and you are free to make the recipe as simple or indeed as complex as you would like.

Cast iron skillets or a cast iron pan are a great cookware option for camping recipes like the campfire pizza but if you don’t have one, you can use just as about pan you have to hand. Many people will use their Dutch oven which is typically also made from cast iron. That’s the beauty of being out in the wild, you make do with what you’ve got.

In a nutshell, you will need pizza tomato sauce, your favourite pizza topping such as cheese, red onion, ham; whatever you like and of course, pizza dough. This is often the most difficult thing to make on a camping trip but the good news is that you can make the dough from scratch at home and keep it chilled for up to three days.

That being said, if you want to , you can take your ingredients on the road and make your dough around the campfire. However, when doing this, we should point out that the prep time for pizza dough will include, mixing the flour, olive oil, water, yeast, salt and sugar before kneading the dough and then allowing it to rise for at least an hour. So, if you are going to make the dough when you go camping, be sure to give yourself plenty of prep time. Check out our quick pizza recipe:

2 cups flourRapid rise yeast (1 packet)2 tsp salt1 cup warm waterOliveoil (5 tablespoons)Your favorite toppings

Start by mixing the dry recipe ingredients in a bowl with a fork until they are blended. Next, add in the wet ingredients, retaining 3 tablespoons of the oil for later on (this will be used to coat your pan so that the pizza dough doesn’t stick while cooking . Mix thoroughly with your fork.

Knead your pizza dough well; this is one of the most important parts of the recipe. In a home kitchen, we would suggest kneading for a total time of 20 minutes but around teh campfire you could reduce this to 5 minutes if you are very pushed for time.

Now allow the dough to rise. Again, at home the total time for proofing would be 90 minutes at room temperature, but for campfire pizza, you could cut this to half an hour.

Cooking Pizza On A Campfire

One of the great things about being at home is that you can make your pizza dough, load on the pizza sauce and toppings and pop it in the pizza oven for a total time of around 2 minutes or around 20 minutes total time for pizza made in a kitchen oven.

However, when you go camping, you don’t have your oven so you need to alter the way you cook these camping recipes. For us, that’s all part of the excitement.

There have been many people who have experimented with cooking pizza on a grill but in order to do this over your campfire, you would need to have a proper grate which isn’t always possible. So, this is why we suggest using a cast iron pan. Using a cast iron skillet or cast iron pan allows you to cook in various ways which is ideal for when you want to make pizza in nature.

To begin with you will need to shape the dough in your cast iron skillet. You may have kneaded the dough on a cutting board but it is easier to shape it in the pan. Start by pushing it out to form the crust and forming the entire shape of the pizza around the pan.

Now you are ready to start cooking. How you do this will depend on the type of heat you are using. A lot of people will make campfire pizza on a traditional campfire, however, some people like to use a propane stove. Either way is fine but if you are opting for the propane stove, you will need to keep moving the cast iron pan around so that the heat cooks the pizza dough evenly.

For a fire, you won’t need to worry about this as the fire will typically envelop the pan and distribute heat evenly. You should also keep in mind that cast iron will hold heat for a long time even after you remove from the fire. For this reason, we would always urge you to be careful when handling the campfire pizza cooking equipment.

The dough will cook from the bottom and as such, you want to make sure that you remove from the fire once the base is cooked underneath. It doesn’t matter if the top part of the dough is not yet cooked as you will be giving it some more cooking time on the fire once the toppings have been added. If you leave it any longer at this point, there is a chance that the recipe will burn and you will have to start from scratch.

Once it is off the fire, you can flip the pizza base over and add your pizza sauce and your favorite toppings; meats, veggie toppings; anything you like. Most people will use tomato sauce but you can make pizzas with BBQ sauce or any other flavour.

Now you can return the food to the fire but this time, make sure that you cover the pizza with either a cast iron lid or some aluminum foil. This will keep the heat inside and allow the cheese to melt. Once the cheese has melted, you can remove the foil. This will prevent the pizzas form becoming too moist and ultimately soggy.

The cook time, 15 minutes, is usually enough to have another pizza base prepped and ready to go since you will need to cook each of your pizzas separately.

Once it is ready, transfer the campfire pizza to a cutting board and cut it into pieces.

Can You Use A Pizza Stone On A Campfire?

If you love to cook pizzas then you will know that a pizza stone is a great way to make pizza that is evenly cooked and delicious. Not only this but the residual heat of the stone could reduce the total time you need to cook. For example, in a pizza oven, pizza only requires around 2 minutes cook time.

You can use a pizza stone to make pizza on a campfire. Just keep in mind that this will be another piece of equipment that you need to take camping. These items can be quite heavy and may weigh you down if you are hiking from campsite to campsite. However, on the plus side, they do offer the best way to create an authentic and well-cooked pizza.

To use your pizza stone for campfire pizza, you will replace the cast iron pan that we discussed earlier on and use the stone instead. You will need a grate or rack to place this on. With this in mind, let’s take a look at how you can make campfire pizza recipes using a pizza stone.

Begin by placing the pizza stone onto the grate, above the fire. You will need to give the pizza stone time to heat up so while this is happening, you can get to work on other aspects of your campfire pizza.Take your pizza dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out into your desired shape and thickness (it may shrink in size a little when you stop shaping it) (it may shrink in size a little when you stop shaping it). You can do this following the same process we discussed when you make pizza directly in the pan.Now, place the dough onto the stone and leave it to cook for around ten minutes. This, of course, may vary so you should keep an eye on the food during the cooking process and remove it sooner if you need to.When you’re ready, take the pizza off the fire and begin spreading on your pizza sauce and toppings. Just like before, spread the food onto the cooked side of the base.Now return it to the fire and give the food another ten minutes, covered in foil. As we mentioned earlier, once the cheese melts, fell free to remove the foil for the rest of the cooking time to allow any excess moisture to be released.When you remove the campfire pizza, you can now leave it to cool for a few minutes before cutting it into pieces and enjoying it around your campfire.

Can You Cook Frozen Pizza On A Campfire?

There are some of us that do not want to make recipes from scratch and so taking a frozen pizza on your camping adventure is a great alternative. But one of the main problems with this compared to a ‘homemade’ recipe is that if you try to cook your pizza over the campfire, the base will burn before the toppings have cooked through.

But this is a problem that can be solved by cutting the frozen pizza into smaller pieces and placing it inside a pie iron. You can then hold this over the fire until the pizza is cooked. You are not running the risk of your food burning and it almost always turns out great.

While you can get pie irons made from other metals, we would always suggest using one that is made from cast iron. Not only do they retain the heat and offer a more even cooking result but they often make the food taste a lot nicer, regardless of what you are cooking.

Conclusion

Camping is one of life’s little pleasures; getting out into the open, enjoying the fresh air and taking the time to prepare a meal to enjoy with the family. But pizza isn’t typically something you would see on the menu. Until recently, when more and more people are taking their homemade recipes and bringing them out into the wild. This tells us that it is perfectly viable to make pizza on a campfire.

This is most easily done using a cast iron pan or skillet and cooking the dough from the bottom up before turning it over, popping on your toppings and continuing to grill until the cheese melts and you have a delicious camping pizza fit for even the most demanding adventurers. What’s even better is that if you don’t have your own fresh recipe, you can just as easily heat up a frozen pizza while you are camping.

So, light that campfire and enjoy a pizza style menu on your next camping trip.

What Is A Pizza Peel?


what is a pizza peel

So, you’ve got your pizza oven built, cured and ready to cook. You’ve loaded your favourie pizza toppings onto your fresh pizza dough and now it is time to put the pizza into the oven. But wait! How are you going to do this without burning yourself?

A pizza oven is an amazing invention but one thing is for sure; they get very hot. One surefire way to prevent any nasty accidents and safe pizza cooking is to use a pizza peel. These cooking accessories were designed to be used with pizza ovens and can come in extremely handy when making pizza at home. That being said, you will often see pizza peels being used in a professional capacity.

Pizza peels are one of the things that a lot of people don’t think to buy for their homemade pizza but in this article, we are going to be explaining what pizza peels are used for and why you should never use your pizza oven without one.

What Is A Pizza Peel Used For?

A pizza peel is a device used to put pizza into the oven without burning yourselfThey are also used to turn the pizza during cooking to make sure that everything cooks evenly.

Pizza peels are typically made from either wood or metal and each of these have their pros and cons, which we will look at in a little more detail later on. The metal peels come made from either aluminum or steel but there are iron ones available, although these are less common.

Whether they are made from steel, aluminum, wood or any other material, pizza peels generally have a long handle so that you can place your pizza in the oven without having to get too close to the heat.

One of the great things about pizza peels is that you can choose the size and shape. While a typical pizza peel will be around 15 inches in diameter, there are those that are larger and some with a smaller size. Furthermore, you can get both round and square pizza peels and depending on how you will be using them, each shape has its own purpose.

A square pizza peel is normally used for serving pizza and are often left in the oven during the baking process. They are usually seen to be more easy for the beginner pizza cook and allow you to remove the pizza and turn it.

A lot of people will use a square peel to construct their pizza before cooking it and this eliminates any problems with having to transport the food from one surface to another.

Conversely, a round pizza peel is typically used by a more experienced cook, you will normally see these being used in pizza restaurants. One of the biggest advantages is that while using this type of peel may not be as easy, once you have it down to a T, they are more versatile.

A round peel can be used to turn pizzas in the oven without taking them off the pizza stone. The pizza stone is extremely hot and will cook the pizza from the base upwards. When you place pizzas on a stone, you will typically get a much nicer crust and more crispy base. However, removing the pizzas from the stone during baking will halt the cooking process when what you really want is consistent heat. A round pizza peel helps massively with this.

Finally, we should talk about the perforated pizza peel. Once again, you can choose which size or shape you have but these ones are normally made from metal. The great thing about this sort of peel is that they will let any excess flour fall through the holes so that this doesn’t interfere with the cooking of the food.

They are often much easier to use and you will typically find that the pizza will slide straight off into the oven, ready to cook. This is because this type of peel reduces how much the pizza will stick and is often favoured by those working in a professional setting.

Is A Wooden Or Metal Pizza Peel Better?

We have mentioned that you can get pizza peels made from either wood or metal and in order to know which is best for you, it is important to understand the pros and cons of each type.

One of the best things about wooden peels is that they tend to look a lot nicer. If you are at all concerned about the aesthetics of your outdoor pizza kitchen then you might want to use a wooden peel. However, you should also keep in mind that your pizza is much more likely to stick to a wooden peel. However, this problem can be eliminated by using some sort of flour, such as rice flour to coat the surface before laying your pizza down. You can also use parchment paper to do this. Although this isn’t essential.

That being said, a wooden pizza peel is excellent for soaking up grease so when you use a pizza peel like this, the base of your pizza won’t be at all oily. Conversely, a metal pizza peel does not have the ability to soak up oil so it is vital that you use some sort of parchment paper or flour to prevent the raw dough from sticking. If you do not use parchment paper or flour, you may find that the pizza dough will not slide right off the peel into the oven and this can make using a pizza peel far less easy than it should be.

Another thing to consider is that wooden peels tend to be much heaver than a metal peel. This means that if you have to use one for long periods of time, you may find that you get worn out pretty quickly. A metal pizza peel is typically made from either steel or aluminium and these are both very lightweight, making it a lot less bulky and easier to handle.

But the best way to determine whether wooden peels or metal peels will suit your needs it to look at how easy they are to use. A wooden pizza peel is normally much thicker and this can make them a little tricky when used with certain types of pizza. You may also find that they do not reach the back of the oven as easily since they do not have a long stick-like handle like a metal peel.

Metal peels also tend to come in a variety of sizes; you can get short handled metal peels and those that have very long handles that are almost like a stick. These are great for reaching right to the back of the pizza oven. Furthermore, the steel and aluminum used to make these peels is always much thinner so they are easier to slide the pizza off the pizza stone or other baking surface.

That being said, a metal pizza peel is typically a lot less durable than wooden peels and you often find that the handle will weaken over time. The slippery aluminum or steel is also difficult to grip when compared to the excellent grip you get on a wood peel.

It is also important to look at whether or not the peel is easy to clean. As a general rule, metal is always going to be easier to clean than wood. But provided that you dust the peel with flour, cornmeal or something else to stop the dough from sticking, the clean-up shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

There are hybrid pizza peels which normally come with a metal surface and a wooden handle. These give you the benefit of a strong wooden grip as well as having the metal that allows the food to slide off much more easily.

In truth, there is not one type of pizza peel that is better than the other but you should consider which will be best for your needs. Weighing up the pros and cons is undoubtedly the best way to do this. You will need to think about the type of pizzas you will be making, the size of your pizza oven, your own strength and ability as well as whether you want something that won’t stick to the dough.

Is A Pizza Peel Necessary?

When it comes to making pizza at home, there are a lot of things you will need. Pizza ovens are becoming more popular and this leads many a home pizza cook to raise the question of whether they need everything that they are told they do.

In just the same way that a pizza stone isn’t necessary to make pizza at home, it does give you a much more authentic pizza. Your pizza peel is also not something that you need but it is certainly an item that will help in making authentic pizza.

Many people like to use these tools as they recreate the feel of a traditional pizza kitchen but you may also find that your peel, along with a pizza stone and authentic pizza oven will give you an overall better flavor and texture.

Furthermore, if you want to experience safer baking then using a pizza peel to put the pizza in the oven, turn it and take it back out will help you to achieve this.

You will likely find that baking pizza is far easier with a peel since you can make the pizza on the peel and put it onto the pizza stone without your toppings falling off the dough.

In short, while you might not need one, if you use a pizza peel, you’ll like have a much better time making pizza.

What Is A Pizza Peel Substitute?

If you don’t have a pizza peel, you might be wondering what you could use to peel pizza in its place. Furthermore, you should always make sure that you have an emergency utensil on hand should your favourite pizza peel break or malfunction in some way.

There are some great ideas for alternative pizza peels; take a look at the following;

Double a cutting board up as a pizza peelSimply use a piece of parchment paper to transfer the pizza into the oven and onto the pizza stone. What’s great about this is that you can leave the paper on the pizza stone but do remember that this won’t give you as crisp a base as the pizza stone won’t be able to transfer heat directly to the pizza.You could wrap a stiff sheet of cardboard in tin foil and use this to peel pizza into the oven. However, it is imperative than once the pizza is in the pizza oven and on the pizza stone, you remove the makeshift peel from the oven. These ovens get incredibly hot and regardless of how stiff it is, cardboard should never be allowed to get this hot.A baking sheet or cookie tray without a rim would work well as a pizza peel.

How To Stop Dough From Sticking To The Surface Of The Peel

A big gripe for people who make pizza in their pizza ovens is that they find the dough keeps sticking to the surface of the peel; this can be incredibly frustrating. However, you can prevent this by using something on the surface.

Pizza peels come in either a metal or wood design and you can have problems with pizzas sticking on both. You will want to use a natural ingredient that won’t affect the taste of your pizza but that will also be easy to clean.

For these reasons, a lot of people opt for cornmeal. Cornmeal is much more dense than flour and when you place it on the surface of the peel it will almost allow the dough to roll off onto the pizza stone.

However, it is also important to make sure that your dough is just right and not too wet, as sticky dough can pose more of a problem with sticking to the surface of the peel.

Conclusion

Many people love to make pizzas at home; there is something incredibly satisfying about making fresh dough and watching it sizzle and crisp in the oven, covered in your favourite toppings.

However, there is the issue of getting the pizza into your oven and onto the stone without burning yourself. After you make the pizza, you can use a pizza peel to place the food into the oven. Using this handy accessory will give you a more authentic experience and will often improve the taste and texture of the pizza after you cook it.

There are different types of peel, this includes the size, shape and material from which they are made and which you end up using will depend on several factors.

While a pizza peel or turning peel isn’t necessary, it can be extremely useful and will serve you well as you place your food into such a hot oven and when you need to take it back out.

Why Is My Pizza Dough Sticky | How To Fix It


You have followed your pizza dough recipe to the letter, you thought that everything had gone to plan. But then, as your start kneading the dough, you notice how sticky it is. Surely that isn’t right?

It can take some practice to be able to make the perfect pizza and one of the things that most home pizza chefs find challenging is getting the dough to the right consistency. However, many of them often find that they end up with sticky dough and this can be frustrating, to say the least.

Sticky pizza dough is going to cause problems but more often than not, it is easily solved. Typically, pizza dough becomes sticky when the flour to water ratio is not right. While dough does need a good amount of hydration, there is an important balance that you must stick to.

In this article, we are going to be exploring why you might end up with sticky pizza dough and giving you some tips to avoid this in the future.

Is Pizza Dough Meant To Be Sticky?

It can be a little tricky to get things just right when following a recipe for pizza dough. All pizza dough recipes will include water and this is vital for the hydration of the dough. If the dough does not receive enough hydration, this can result in a product that is far too dry.

But you need to get the dough to just the right consistency. Your dough should be slightly sticky however, you don’t want the dough to be so sticky that it sticks to your preparation surface or the pizza stone or pizza peel.

What Does It Mean When Dough Is Sticky?

Quite simple, if dough is too sticky, it means that there is too much water in the recipe. Now of course, water is one of the main ingredients in dough and it is imperative for its hydration. However, too much water can result in sticky pizza dough.

The problem is that a lot of people see that the dough is too sticky and will start adding lots more flour. While this can be a solution. It can also take away from the hydration and turn your problem into something completely opposite; dough that is too dry and crumbly.

That being said, while too much water is the main culprit, you might also find that the wrong type of flour can also make dough sticky. This is because different types of flour will create different levels of dough absorption where water is concerned.

You might think that using a traditional, finely milled Italian 00 flour will help you to make pizza dough that never goes wrong. But this isn’t necessarily the case.

As a rule, you need to use a stronger flour to make the dough for pizza as this will create a higher hydration pizza dough owing to its ability to absorb water a little bit better than other types.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to determine the strength of the flour as many flour manufacturers do not include this information on their packaging. Fortunately, there are many online guides that home bakers can follow to get things just like, like this one.

How Do You Fix Sticky Dough?

Before we start looking at all you will need to know to fix sticky dough, it is important to make you aware that there is a certain degree of stickiness where dough is concerned. This is as a result of the ingredients combining together and is important, to an extent.

As you are kneading the dough you are encouraging gluten development. Both yeast and flour contain gluten and when pizza doughs are kneaded, this gluten develops and makes the dough much stretchier, which is an important thing. However, it can also cause it to become sticky, and if you find yourself in a situation where your dough is sticking to your pizza stone, pan, pizza peel and anything else it touches, there is a way or two you can do to rescue it.

The Need To Knead

Many people find that the reason their pizza dough is too sticky is that they do not knead it for long enough. Once the dough is one your work surface and read to be kneaded, you must be prepared to spend some time on this part of the process.

You might be keen to get out the pizza stones and start cooking but it is vital that you don’t rush through everything when making pizza.

Most people knead by hand and this can take time. There are people who like to use a dough scraper to manipulate their dough but using your hands is more alike the traditional method.

Kneading by hand should be done for at least 15 minutes, but at times, it can take as long as half an hour. The best way to fix sticky dough is to knead it more. As you do this, the gluten will develop more and give you a much more elastic dough.

You can add flour to your kneading surface and this can help to make the dough less sticky.

Not only is this important for stopping the dough from sticking to your pizza stone, pizza peel or any other surface it touches, but it will also give you a much nicer pizza crust.

Humidity

For those who are in a particularly humid location, this moisture in the air can penetrate the dough making it stickier than if you were making it in a drier environment. This along with the liquid components of the dough like oil and water can cause the dough to be incredibly sticky.

While you may not be able to change the environment, you can try adding less liquid to the dough. Furthermore, always make sure to store your dough properly if you aren’t ready to use it. It is best to store the dough somewhere that is not humid like the fridge, allowing it to come back to room temperature when you are ready to cook.

dd More Flour

Out of all the reasons that dough becomes sticky, the biggest reason is that there is too much water. The dry ingredients like yeast and flour cannot absorb this and you may need to add more.

As a rule, the dough should have a hydration of about 60%, this means that if you are using 1000g of flour, you would need 600g of water.

Water Temparature

Before you can shape you pizza and put it onto the pizza stone for baking in the oven, you will need to have made sure that you have followed the recipe precisely. You will notice that all pizza recipes contain flour, water, oil, salt, yeast and sugar.

A lot of people make the mistake of adding cold water. Cold water is not great for pizza dough and you should always make sure that you use warm water. Warm water is much better for hydrating the yeast, cold water simply cannot manage this.

If you haven’t used warm water, this may be the one thing that means you have to start making the dough over again.

Pizza Is Sticking To The Pizza Stone

You’ve spent ages with your hands in the dough to make sure it is properly kneaded, you have adjusted the level of liquid in the pizza dough and now, as you come to put the pizza into the oven, you find it is sticking to the pizza stone.

Whether you use a fan oven or a traditional brick pizza oven, pizza stones are a great way to ensure even cooking and get that beautiful fluffy crust, However, all of us know the pain of lovingly crafting a pizza only to find that said pizza is stuck to the stone when it comes out of the oven.

You can use parchment paper on your stone but one of the best methods is to use cornmeal; something that a lot of home bakers have in their food store. This will stop the pizza from sticking but will not burn, which can be a problem when using flour on the stone.

Conclusion

Pizza is a hugely popular dish but making pizza dough is something of an art. But we all have to start somewhere and getting your pizza dough just right doesn’t have to be a chore.

Whether you find the pizza dough is sticking to the stone during cooking or isn’t stretching enough, there are some easy ways to solve this issue.

Pizza dough contains water but if you add too much, this can make the pizza dough sticky. Furthermore, using the wrong kind of pizza flour can affect how the dough absorbs the water. Your water should always be warm as pizza dough cannot develop gluten as well with cold water.

How To Store Pizza Dough | (Proofing, Made To Much)?


dough tray

If you want to make pizzas in the comfort of your own home, one of the most important things to consider is how to store pizza dough. If you aren’t ready to bake your pizza dough right away, you will need to make sure that it is stored correctly so that is doesn’t go bad.

Pizza dough will keep in the freezer for up to three months and in the refrigerator for three days but at room temperature, you will need to make sure you get baking pretty quickly.

In this post, we are going to be looking at the best way to store pizza dough and giving you some tips on the various methods.

How Do You Refrigerate Homemade Pizza Dough?

One of the joys of making pizzas at home is that you can do much of the preparation ahead of time. Making the dough is one such example of this but if you don’t intend on baking it the same day, you must store the dough in the fridge.

When kept in the fridge, your dough will typically last for around three days so this is a good method if you want to make your pizza dough at the weekend ready to use during the week.

To start, you will need to follow the pizza dough recipe which will include flour, water, yeast, sugar, olive oil and salt. Some recipes may not include certain ingredients but it is up to you which recipe you follow. This recipe makes the most traditional pizza crust.

Once your dough is prepared, you can then split it into balls with a dough scraper. Make sure that you have kneaded the dough well and then get a plastic container, typically a bowl, to but the balls in. You must lightly coat the inside of your bowl with olive oil as this will prevent the dough ball from sticking.

Place your pizza dough balls inside the bowl and cover it with either some plastic wrap or a lid. If you are using plastic wrap, be sure to properly seal this around the container to prevent air from getting inside.

Now place the dough in the fridge. One of the benefits of keeping pizza dough in the fridge is that it will rise, so you don’t need to let it rise before you store it.

Pizza dough that is kept in the fridge should be used within three days to taste it at its best. If it is not, you will find that it doesn’t have as good flavor and the texture of the crust may be drier than you would like.

When you are ready to start baking, you should take the dough out of the fridge and let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before putting it into the oven. You can leave it for a little extra time but try not to leave it any longer than 1/2 an hour.

Leaving the dough to warm will allow you to knead a stretch it much more easily. You can then work the dough into the correct shape before baking. However, we would also suggest that you let the dough rest for 15 minutes first.

Can You Refrigerate Pizza Dough After it Rises?

The great thing about pizza dough is that you can pop it into the fridge at any point of the process. From the moment you begin creating your recipe, right through to after the dough has been baked, it can be kept in the fridge.

If you have let the dough rise at room temperature, you may then decide to chill it until you are ready to use it.

According to some of the best pizza chefs, putting the dough in the fridge after the first rise will give the best results. You can follow the same process that we discussed in the previous section but do remember to give the dough balls room to rise as it will expand.

After the dough has been in the fridge for a day, you will find that it is at its best for making pizza. This is because, at this point, the dough will have the most amount of flavor and texture. If you are looking to make pizza with a professional crust, it can help to use the dough after a day in the fridge.

When are ready to use it, reshape the dough and let it rise again. Then follow the same process as before, leaving the dough for around 15 – 30 minutes to come to room temperature. It will then be good to use.

How Long Can You Leave Pizza Dough To Rise?

When you make pizza, one of the most important parts of the process is to allow the dough to rise. You might hear this being called proofing or fermenting, but it is all the same thing.

The reason that this is so important is that, if you want to achieve a fluffy crust, the yeast must have time to react with the gluten in the dough. You will notice that all pizza dough recipes call for yeast and often sugar, along with flour and water of course. Some yeast needs to be dissolved in water whereas other types of yeast can be added directly into the flour and other dry ingredients; but all yeast acts in the same way.

Yeast is a living organism that needs to feed. When you knead the dough, you are creating a network of gluten structures that the yeast can feed on. During the rising process, the yeast ‘eats’ the sugar and creates air bubbles; this is what causes the dough to expand and is what creates that gorgeous fluffy crust.

So, after you have completed your dough recipe, you will need to leave it to rise but depending on where you place the dough will depend on how much time it will need.

You can leave the dough at room temperature in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and lined with a coating of olive oil or any other type of cooking oil. In this case, you should give it between 1 and 1/2 hours. It may take a little longer if the room is cool so don’t be afraid to give it a little extra time, if needs be. The dough should double in size and this is an easy way to tell when it is ready.

Alternatively, you can proof your pizza dough in the fridge. If you use this method, do be prepared to keep the dough there for longer as the cooler temperatures will slow down the proofing process. The dough will take at least 12 hours to proof. However, it is important to keep in mind that after a few days, the yeast will have run out of gluten to feed on and the dough will start to deteriorate.

Put the dough balls in to a container and follow the same process as before.

When the dough is ready for using, you can take it out and allow it to come to room temperature before putting it into the oven for baking.

Can You Freeze Pizza Dough?

If you don’t plan to use your dough for some time, or you have a lot of dough left over, it is entirely possible to store it in the freezer. This is a great method because you can separate the dough into balls and this is great if you wish to make one pizza at a time. Next time you come to use the dough, you can remove as much or as little as you need from the freezer and still have some for another day.

When you keep the dough in the freezer, it will stay good for up to three months. But it is important to store it correctly so that it is just like fresh dough when you thaw it.

You should separate the dough into balls and coat each of these in your favorite oil; this will stop them from sticking together in the freezer, making them easy to remove. To prevent sticking even more, you might place the dough into its own bag. You can use a freezer food bag but if you do not have a bag, you can use parchment paper or plastic wrap.

Make sure you remove all the air before you put the pizza dough in the freezer. It will be good to use for up to 3 months but after this time, the pizza dough may get freezer burn and this can effect the flavor of the pizza.

When you want to use the pizza dough, you should thaw it in the refrigerator. It is better to thaw overnight but as long as it has had around 12 hours, the pizza dough should be good.

After this, you should to follow the same process for dough that has been kept in the fridge, leaving it for 30 minutes at room temperature before working the dough.

Can I Store Pizza Dough In The Freezer After Cooking?

You can also make pizza and keep the finished pizza in your freezer. This is just as easy and can be executed just like freezing pizza dough, covering each pizza with wrap or in a container and allowing them to defrost when you want to use them. Frozen pizza should be used within two months.

Conclusion

Many people like to make pizza at home, it is easy to make and requires basic ingredients like flour, water, yeast and sugar; things that we all have in our kitchen cabinets.

However, it is vital that you treat your pizza dough with care and store it correctly before using it. This makes sure that your pizza always turns out perfect.

You can keep pizza dough in the fridge, freezer or at room temperature if you intend on using it directly after it rises. The good news is that pizza dough will keep for a few months when frozen so you can enjoy pizza long after making the dough!

Star Shaped Pizza!

Be The Star Of The Pizza Party!

Looking to make your homemade pizza exciting? A star-shaped pizza is visually stunning as well as a classy way to improve the beloved stuffed crusted pizza. Impress your friends and family by presenting a dazzling star-shaped stuffed crusted pizza. 

Star Pizza, Pizzacraft, stuffed crust pizza, cheese crust, pizza shapes

 

This simple recipe is one that will take your pizza making skills to the next level. Impress your friends, family, children and more. The gooey cheese pockets will keep you coming back to this recipe time after time! You will be the star of the show when you bring this stunning pizza to the table!

 

Star Pizza, Pizzacraft, stuffed crust pizza, cheese crust, pizza shapes

 

Star is Born! 

A star shaped pizza is visually stunning as well a way to class up a stuffedcrusted pizza. To create this look stretch your dough as you normally would. Place the dough on a pizza peel dusted with flour and semolina. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife cut the outside edge of the dough going toward the center about 2 inches deep on the top, bottom, left and right side of the dough.
Star Pizza, Pizzacraft, stuffed crust pizza, cheese crust, pizza shapes

Star Pizza, Pizzacraft, stuffed crust pizza, cheese crust, pizza shapes

Fold It!

You should have four cuts that divided the outer crust into quarters. Now repeat this again but half way between each cut. You should have eight tabs around the outside of the pizza. Assemble the center of the pizza like normal but make sure to put a little sauce and cheese in the center of the 8 tabs. Make sure you leave a little bit of dough around the outside. Pinch both sides of the tab together. This should seal the dough together while creating a point at the end. Repeat with the remaining 7 tabs. Cook you pizza as you normally would.

Enjoy It!

This week’s PIZZA OF THE WEEK is @jack_nealeigh_dominguez Keep cooking up wonderful pizzas Jack! Cheers!  

Thanks so much to everyone else submitting pizzas! I see you, keep baking. It looks delicious! 

If you maker Pickle Pizza in your Pronto® or in your own oven I would love to see on Instagram @_pizzacraft  or #pizzacraft. Next week will choose our favorite pizza to feature right here on the blog! 

Making Naturally Leavened Pizza Dough

Using Starter- Pizza Dough! 

We all know you can buy pre-made pizza dough and make a lack luster pizza crust. It is time to level up your pizza game and make your own dough using your own starter. We have detailed instructions on how to go from a novice dough maker to a world class pizza expert. Grab your Pizzacraft® gear and let’s get to work on a masterpiece! 

Pizzacraft, pizza dough, pizza starter, dough starter, pizza crust, pizza making

We have a recipe about how to make your own starter and recipes on how to make your own pizza dough, but we forgot to show you how to use your starter in your recipe. Using a starter in you dough can add a lot of character and flavor to your pizza that you can’t get from commercial yeast.

 This recipe was developed to add flavor to the crust without turning it into a sourdough pizza crust. To do this we don’t add a ton of starter and let that starter slowly work its magic. The process is longer than your average dough recipe, but I think once you give it a try you will have a hard time going back to using store bought yeast.


starter, dough starter, pizza dough, Pizzacraft

starter, dough starter, pizza dough, Pizzacraft

starter, dough starter, pizza dough, Pizzacraft

starter, dough starter, pizza dough, Pizzacraft

 

Ingredients-

4 Cups or 20oz 00 Pizzacraft Flour2 Teaspoons or 0.5oz Kosher Salt1 Packet Instant Yeast (0.25oz)13 oz Water.5 oz starter about 2 tablespoons of starter

Instructions-

Combine starter and water in a small bowl. Stir until dissolved.Place flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook on yourmixer, turn on low to combine flour and salt.Slowly add the water and starter to the bowl making sure to scrape the dough offthe sides of the mixing bowl with a silicone spatula. Continue until all flour ishydrated.Once the dough is has a smooth appearance, remove from bowl and cover it withplastic wrap.In a large covered container or bowl leave the dough mixture to rest on the counter for 4 hours before placing it in the fridge for 24 hours.Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into thirds and roll into balls.Dust a baking dish with flour and place the balls in the dish and cover with plasticwrap. Return the dough to the fridge for another 24 hoursBefore cooking pizza remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature before trying to stretch it, about 2 hours.
Pizzacraft, pizza dough, pizza starter, dough starter, pizza crust, pizza making

 

 

Pizzacraft, pizza dough, pizza starter, dough starter, pizza crust, pizza making

Our Silicone Baking mat is a great tool to form and shape your dough and measure how large you want your pizzas to be. This large, slip-proof surface has guidelines for making multiple sizes of crust. It is also perfect for rolling pie crusts, cookie dough, or other pastries.

 

For other alternative pizza recipes check out:

Dill Pickle Pizza!Cherry Tomato and Basil Flatbread Greek Yogurt Pizza Dough

This week’s PIZZA OF THE WEEK is @Eddie_nyer! Keep cooking up wonderful pizzas Eddie, Cheers!  

Thanks so much to everyone else submitting pizzas! I see you, keep baking it looks delicious! 

If you maker Pickle Pizza in your Pronto® or in your own oven I would love to see on Instagram @_pizzacraft  or #pizzacraft. Next week will choose our favorite pizza to feature right here on the blog! 

 

Dill Pickle Pizza Recipe

Dill Pickle Pizza is here to stay, maybe. 

Here at Pizzacraft® toppings have always been a super controversial subject. We have the classic pizza eaters who usually stick to original toppings such as pepperoni and onions. Others adventure into the wild side with pineapples, dates and even macaroni and cheese. We saw a rather unusual combination making its way around the internet and decided we had to give it a try. We fired up our Pizzeria Pronto® and made our own version of the infamous Dill Pickle Pizza. 

 

Pickle Lovers Dream 

 The salty brine of the pickles with the garlic cream sauce is a perfect flavor combination. The pickles still have the crunchy bite you would expect from a fresh pickle even though they are cooked. We even suggest trying this recipe with bread and butter pickles for those who prefer sweet over savory. If you don’t like pickles this recipe isn’t for you, Otherwise give it a try. Overall this pizza was a success and we will be making it again in the near future.  

pickle pizza, pizzeria pronto, dill pickle pizza, pizza craft, homemade pizza

Pickles on Pizza?

Our office was split 50-50 between love and hate with this unconventional recipe. This savory pie is one of the most interesting flavor profiles we have experimented with to date. If you like pickles there is no way you won’t like this pizza. We added extra dill after cooking to really make the pickle flavor stand out. 

pickle pizza, pizza peel, dill pickle pizza, pizza craft, dill pizza

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy whipping cream3 garlic cloves1/2 bunch dill1/3 cup shredded low moisture mozzarella1 cup dill pickle slicesred pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions:

Put the cream, garlic, dill and a heavy pinch of salt into a blender. Blend themixture for 10 seconds. If you blend longer you run the risk of whipping the cream.Stretch your pizza dough and place on a peel dusted with flour. Spoon 3tablespoons of the cream mixture onto the dough followed by the mozzarella andpickles. Cook the pizza and garnish with red pepper flakes. This recipe will make enough cream sauce for multiple pizzas, cream sauce will keep for 1 week covered in fridge.

dill pickle pizza, pizza peel, pickle pizza, dill pizza, pizza craft

 

For other alternative pizza recipes check out:

Cherry Tomato and Basil Flatbread Greek Yogurt Pizza DoughThe Best Vegan Pizza Ever!

This week’s PIZZA OF THE WEEK is @Grayda1! This beautiful looking half pepperoni half cheese is a culinary masterpiece, Cheers!  

 

Thanks so much to everyone else submitting pizzas! I see you, keep baking it looks delicious! 

If you maker Pickle Pizza in your Pronto® or in your own oven I would love to see on Instagram @_pizzacraft or #pizzacraft. Next week will choose our favorite pizza to feature right here on the blog! 

 

 

Cherry Tomato and Basil Flatbread

Fresh Take on Flatbread!

Fall is definitely here, but at Pizzacraft®, we’re trying to hold on to that summer feeling as long as possible. This Cherry Tomato and Basil Flatbread recipe is a taste of summer that will remind you how versatile pizza toppings can be. The combination of the fresh crisp salad and the warm flatbread make for a perfectly complex bite. We heated up our Baking Steel and got to business on this new summer (or fall) favorite. So hit the grocery store and find some of the final fresh tomatoes and basil of the season and get to work on this warm summer delight. 

 Oil with a Twist 

We combine olive oil and sliced garlic to make a zesty infused oil that adds heaps of flavor to the salad as well as the flatbread. The flatbread is hearty enough to eat solo for a light meal. It is also a great way to give your menu a twist when making a bunch of traditional-style pizzas on pizza night.
pizzacraft®, baking steel, pizza dough, flatbread recipe, tomato basil flatbread, pizza stone

Steel vs. Stone

This flatbread recipe is so quick and easy to make, it’s our go-to choice for a healthy weeknight meal. Our Baking Steel is one of our favorite methods for making a pizza on the grill. Baking Steels conduct heat better than a pizza stone, store more heat per unit volume, and stabilize at a lower temperature.
Baking steel, Pizza Steel, Flatbread, Pizza on grill, Pizza on steel

Ingredients

1 portion pizza dough1 cup halved cherry tomatoes¼ red onion julienned1 cup ciliegine sized mozzarella*1 cup torn basil leaves4 garlic cloves¼ cup extra virgin olive oil½ lemon*if you can’t find ciliegine sized mozzarella you can cut any sized mozzarella into½ inch chunks

Instructions

Preheat your pizza steel on your grill with indirect heat or in your oven for 20
minutes. While the steel preheats, slice the cloves of garlic as thin as possible and
combine with the olive oil.

When the steel is done preheating; stretch your dough
and place on your floured pizza peel. Using a dough docker or a fork, prick the dough all over. Drizzle the dough with the garlic-infused olive oil and give it a sprinkle of sea salt.
Make sure to reserve at least a tablespoon of the garlic-infused olive oil.Slide the dough onto your pizza steel. While the dough cooks, combine the
mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and onion in a bowl. Squeeze the lemon over the
tomato mix and add some of the garlic-infused olive oil. Season with sea salt and mix to combine.
Remove the dough from the steel and top with the salad mixture and serve
Flatbread pizza, baking steel, tomato and basil flatbread, grilled pizza, pizza on grill, pizza stone

 Heat up the Steel!

In a 500°F oven, a baking steel will stabilize at around 450°F due to the steel’s radiative properties. It gives constant heat even as it absorbs it, causing it to stabilize at a temperature that’s slightly cooler than the air around it. Even though the steel is cooler than a stone, it is far superior at transferring energy to whatever is placed on top of it.
 pizzacraft®, Pizza steel, baking steel, pizza on grill, grilled pizza, pizza stone, pizza steel

Pizzacraft® Baking Steels are pre-seasoned with vegetable oil. Seasoning helps to condition the steel and prevents food from sticking to it.

Pizza steels are intended for oven use.Only use indirect heat if using on a grill. Do not turn burners on directly under the steel.

 

20% Off The Baking Steel 

This Weekend Only! Use The Code STEEL20 at Checkout!

For More Recipes Check Out:

Homemade Pita Bread Nacho PizzaGreek Yogurt Pizza Dough 

This week’s PIZZA OF THE WEEK is made by Inna @theflourfloozy! Inna made a beautiful pizza this week on her Pizzacraft® Pizza Stone! Thanks Inna!

@theflourfloozy, pizza, pizzacraft®

Thanks so much to everyone else submitting pizzas! I see you, keep baking it looks delicious! 

Share your next pizza creation on Instagram @_pizzacraft  or #pizzacraft. Next week will choose our favorite pizza our favorite to feature right here on the blog! 

Brief History of Pizzacraft

Pizzacraft® was born to be your one-stop shop for a quality set of pizza making tools. Pizzacraft® features an extensive line of artisan quality pizza stones, pizza ovens, tools and accessories for crafting and baking pizzas at home, in the oven or on the grill. Be sure to check out our other products onPizzacraft.com, they’re designed to make you a better pizzaiolo! 

Contact us any time at [email protected]

Green Garlic Cream Pizza Sauce

White Sauce Pizza Recipe 

The internet is full of crazy allegations and outlandish theories. From claiming the world is flat to Justin Bieber being a space lizard. As much as I wish the latter was true its most likely not and some theories on the internet just need to die.So today I will do my part to clean the internet of false claims. Since I’m still not sure about Justin Bieber’s origins I’ll tackle the LIES of white pizza sauce.

All you have to do is a simple google search for white pizza sauce and you will be bombarded with recipes that start by saying, “add flour and butter to a pan to make a roux. Slowly whisk in milk and cook until thickened.”Enough is enough! Besides the fact that these sauces make for a pizza that is heavy and dense, it’s also way more work then you need to do.

The most amount of work you should be putting in is heating up a pot of cream with aromatics and the least should be opening up a carton of cream and using it. White pizzas should be more about the cheese then the sauce. By using cream we are just creating an opportunity for the cheese to melt evenly and become slightly saucy.Although this sauce is simple there are a couple of ways to go about making it.

You can use cream straight out of the carton. I like to do this when I want to showcase a certain cheese. I find this to be really great with vegetarian pies that use a more unique or robust cheese than mozzarella. It can help bring out the flavors of a taleggio or fontina without overpowering it as a flavored cream would.

When it comes to flavoring cream you have two options steeping and blending. Steeping is a great option for earthier flavors. Earthy flavors of rosemary or thyme really come out when heated in cream, as does the savory taste of mushroom stems. There is no need to chop anything just add the ingredients whole and heat the cream to just below a simmer and wait 10 minutes and strain. Blending, on the other hand, is great for bright flavors. I like it with softer herbs like basil or chives. It brings freshness to a white pizza that can lighten up a normally rich pie. It’s one of my favorite ways to make this style of sauce. I put everything into a blender and blend until the cream slightly thickens. A great combination is a green garlic and lemon.It’s got a nice kick of garlic and brightness from the lemon juice.Green garlic is only available in the spring and it pairs really well with all those spring vegetables we have missed during a wet winter.

Green Garlic Cream

Ingredients

One stalk of green garliczest of one lemonjuice of half a lemon1 pint of heavy creamsalt to taste

Combine all ingredients into a blender. Turn the blender on medium speed and blend until the cream slightly thickens. Make sure not to blend the mixture for too long or it will become too thick and turn into whipped cream.

Chicago’s Pizza Pot Pie Recipe

Chicago’s Famous Pizza Pot Pie Recipe 

Everyone knows the Chicago deep dish pizza but I doubt many people have heard of their other famous pie… the Pizza Pot Pie. It’s nowhere near as widespread as the classic deep dish but it definitely has a cult following.  When I stumbled across a video of the pizza potpie from Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co. I knew I needed to try and recreate it. 

First off what exactly is a pizza pot pie? Well, it’s a pizza in reverse that’s cooked in a bowl. However, we prefer to use an 8-in deep dish pizza pans instead of potentially staining or ruining a nice bowl. The sauce is also a little different; it’s essentially a meat sauce almost like a ragu or bolognaise. Very, different compared to a more traditional pizza sauce. The cheese, however, is what really makes this pizza famous. It stretches, it’s gooey and most important of all there is a lot of it.

Pizza Pot Pie Recipe

Pizza Pot Pie

Ingredients

2 cups of Ragu1 cup of roasted bell peppers sliced½ cup of sliced olives2/3 lbs of low moisture mozzarella cheese sliced1 portion of pizza dough3 tablespoons of melted butter

Steps: 

Preheat your oven to 400F. Put the ragu in a pot and heat over medium heat. Meanwhile, brush melted butter on the inside of an 8in deep dish pizza pan saving the remaining butter. Line the inside of the pan with slices of mozzarella making sure to go up the sides of the pan as well. Sprinkle the cheese with the bell peppers and olives. When the ragu is hot, pour it into the pan.

deep dish pizza recipe

Chicago pizza recipe

pizza blog

Roll your pizza dough into 10-in wide circle. Carefully drape the dough over the top of the deep dish pan. Place the pan on a sheet tray and transfer to a 400F oven.Cook the pizza pot pie for 20 minutes or until the crust becomes golden brown.

pizza pot pie recipe

Remove the pizza from the oven and brush the crust with the leftover butter. Place a plate on top of the crust and using a pair of kitchen gloves hold the plate and the pan and flip over so the plate is down and the bottom of the pan is facing up. Use a spoon to gently loosen the crust all the way around the outside of the pan. Remove the pan and serve.

Try It With Your Own Deep Dish Pan

deep dish pan

 Aluminum Deep Dish Pizza Pans 

For More Alternative Recipes Check Out:

Homemade Pita Bread RecipeChicago Bar Style Pizza Recipe 

This week’s PIZZA OF THE WEEK is made by Andrea @cellarandsalt – She made an amazing looking pie with the Stovetop pizza oven, great work! 

pizza of the week

pizza oven

Thanks so much to everyone else submitting pizzas! I see you, keep baking it looks delicious! 

If you tried out the BAR PIZZA I would love to see on Instagram @_pizzacraft  or #pizzacraft. Next time we will choose our favorite pizza to feature right here on the blog!

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.topthispizzaco.com/?p=377