Since when did hipsters start making such amazing pizzas? I guess we are getting old? Roberta’s in Brooklyn makes an extremely tasty dough that works perfectly will all sorts of toppings (but don’t you dare ask me to put pineapple on a pizza). Today we are going to take a detailed look at Roberta’s pizza dough recipe. I’ll share a few little secret’s with you to make sure that it comes out of the oven perfectly every time.
How to Make Roberta’s Pizza Dough
Did you know that pizza started life in Italy as ‘peasant’ food? A folded flatbread topped with cheese and tomatoes. That was it. I suspect it was far less complex than it is nowadays. That said, our homemade Roberta’s dough is pretty simple.
How simple?
Well, here’s what you’ll need. A bowl and your hands. Is that simple enough? We take a few steps to get the dough absolutely perfect; let’s have a quick run-through.
We start by mixing all of the ingredients in a bowl, literally. That’ll be flour, water, salt, and yeast… Oh, and a little olive oil (it is Italian, after all). From there, we mix the dough until it is smooth. Then we give it (and ourselves) a little rest.
Once the dough has rested, we knead it and shape it into balls before letting the yeast do its work and make the dough nice and puffy.
The final step is shaping the balls into a pizza base. If this sounds daunting, don’t worry. I’ve included how to shape pizza dough as part of the recipe. We then top the pizza and bake it in the oven.
Roberta’s Pizza Dough Recipe
Course: MainCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy2
servings3
hours50
minutes10
minutesRoberta’s pizza undoubtedly has many people searching for the secret to the Roberta’s pizza dough recipe. Lucky for you we’ve outlined how to make this perfect everytime.
Ingredients
1 cup 1 ‘00’ white flour
1 cup 1 all-purpose white flour
1 cup 1 lukewarm water
Large pinch of salt
2 teaspoons 2 fast-action yeast
Directions
- Take a large bowl and add your flour. Tip the water in and mix the dough by hand until there are no lumps. Then add the yeast, salt, and oil. Mix well with your hands. Then leave to rest for 10 minutes.
- Leaving the dough in the bowl, knead with wet hands. I find the best way to do this is to reach under the dough, grab a handful, pull it out, and fold it over the ball’s top. Repeat this process for 2 minutes.
- Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave to rest in a warm place for 3 hours. It should double in size.
- Tip the dough onto a floured surface and divide it into two. Shape each section into a ball and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Shaping the dough and making a pizza
- Take a dough ball and flatten it very slightly. Make a fist and place the flattened disc on top. Using your fingertips, work your way around the disc until it begins to thin. Once you have a disc that is half an inch thick, stretch the dough into a thin disc with both hands. If you leave the edges thicker, you’ll get a nice puffy crust.
- From there, place on a floured counter and top with your choice of toppings before baking in a scorching hot oven. I like to use a preheated pizza stone for that authentic taste, but an oiled baking tray can also work well.
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Tips and Tricks
- Yeast is actually alive. Freaky right? And it works better if there is a mild heat source. For this reason, make sure that you use lukewarm water. This will speed up the rising process. As an additional aside, heat makes the gluten in the flour more stretchy and elastic, so it’s a double win. Oh, and don’t make your water too hot, or it will kill the yeast!
- Speaking of killing yeast, here is a top baker’s tip! Don’t mix your yeast and salt together before adding it to the flour. Keep them separate. Poor yeast really doesn’t like salt. In fact, salt kills the yeast. Your yeast is a key part of this recipe so show it some love, and don’t kill it!
- Your choice of flour is important, and you’ll see there are two different types. Look for Tipo flour. It is also labeled as ‘00’ flour. This is basically flour that is really finely milled. It works exceptionally well in pizza dough (and is also great for making fresh pasta if you have a few eggs leftover).
- How you knead the dough is important. Many people just mash it up with their hands. This isn’t the way. The aim of kneading is to stretch and interlace the gluten. I find that once the dough is well mixed, all you need to do is stretch the dough out and fold it over itself. When you’ve got it right, you’ll feel the dough tighten significantly. Once the dough is a smooth ball, it is ready. Don’t overwork it, or it will end up flat and lifeless.
- I’ve saved the most important tip until last. And this is crucial. Don’t use a rolling pin to make your dough. Yeast makes lots of little air bubbles that make dough light and fluffy. A rolling pin will squeeze out all this air! Instead, shape your dough by hand.
Conclusion
Pizza dough is actually pretty easy when you get the hang of it. Roberta’s pizza dough doesn’t contain any secret ingredients. It is slightly stiffer due to the inclusion of all-purpose flour. What is your favorite pizza topping? Why not let me know in the comments below?
