Ridiculously Easy Pizza Dough

Name: Ridiculously Easy Pizza Dough
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h 55 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour; 1 cup unbleached white bread flour; 1 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 1/3 cups warm water; 1 tablespoon sugar; 2 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast; 3 tablespoon olive oil

9 Ratings

2 Reviews

Prep 10 min
Total 1 hr 55 min
Servings 2

A ridiculously easy pizza dough that tastes better than any store-bought dough, and gives you two pizza pies to work with. MORE+ LESS-

By Girl Versus Dough

Updated October 20, 2014

Ingredients

2 3/4

cups whole wheat flour

cup unbleached white bread flour

1 1/2

teaspoon salt

1 1/3

cups warm water

tablespoon sugar

2 3/4

teaspoon active dry yeast

tablespoon olive oil

Steps

Hide Images

1

Whisk 3 3/4 cups flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
2

Make a well and add 1 1/3 cups warm water, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 packet yeast.
3

When foamy, mix in 3 tablespoons olive oil; knead until smooth, 5 minutes. Brush with olive oil, cover in a bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
4

Divide into two 1-pound balls. Use 1 pound per pizza.

Nutrition Information

No nutrition information available for this recipe

More About This Recipe

I have long touted the benefits of keeping a ball of fresh pizza dough in one’s refrigerator at all times.

It just has so many uses beyond the obvious pizza crust. You can go the simple route and use a ready-made pizza dough like Pillsbury® Classic Pizza Crust, but it’s incredibly easy (and fun!) to make your own.

One such recipe is the Ridiculously Easy Pizza Dough (see isn’t that easy?). It’s just a few ingredients, a little bit of kneading, let it rise and – you’ve got dough!

But the real secret behind pizza dough is that it can be used for so many things beyond pizza. If you’re in a pinch for a quick appetizer or morning brunch, these ideas could be the ace in your pocket that you’re looking for.

Cinnamon Rolls

Roll dough out into a 12-inch by 8-inch rectangle. Brush with ½ cup melted butter and sprinkle with 1 tsp cinnamon mixed with ½ cup white sugar. Roll up tightly to form an 8-inch cylinder. Cut into 1-inch slices and bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes. To make a quick glaze, combine 1/4 cup melted butter with 1/2 cup powdered sugar and drizzle over hot cinnamon rolls.

Flatbread

Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece out into a 6” round. Sprinkle it lightly with sea salt (add garlic and fresh parsley if feeling fancy), and fry each round in 1 tsp of olive oil on both sides until it is bubbly and browned in spots. It can be served like naan with Indian food or as a delicious accompaniment to soups, or as the bread for a gyro. Also delicious sliced into wedges and served with hummus or topped with dressed baby spinach and goat cheese and folded over, like a taco.

Homemade Tortillas

While not a strictly traditional tortilla recipe, thinly rolled and lightly fried bits of pizza dough double very tastily as flour tortillas. Divide the dough into 8 balls, as with the flatbread, but roll each round into an 8” circle and fry on both sides in 1 tsp olive oil. For a quick snack or appetizer, use Old El Paso® Refried Beans and grated Monterey Jack cheese to make quesadillas.

Parmesan Breadsticks

These are a great way to make a simple salad seem like a special dinner. Simply roll pieces of pizza dough into 8 6” ropes and twist. Sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese and sea salt and bake at 400F for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms are browned and the cheese is melted and brown in spots. Serve with a leafy green salad and a side of Muir Glen® Cabernet Marinara Pasta Sauce for dipping, and dinner is served!

Cinnamon-Sugar Donuts

Divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape each piece into a 6” rope, as with the breadsticks. Pinch the two ends together to form a circular donut. Heat 2” vegetable or canola oil in a deep frying pan until oil begins to bubble and fry the dough circles, working in small batches for 1-2 minutes per side, or until golden-brown. Using tongs or a metal slotted spoon, transfer the fried donuts immediately into a bowl of 1 cup white sugar mixed with 2 tsp cinnamon and coat completely.