I do not see any reason to buy pizza dough from the store. This has been so for a long while. Pizza dough is incredibly easy to make, and this one from Baking with Julia involves things I always already have around the house: flour, yeast, water, and olive oil. Yes, it does require time, what with the rising and kneading and the forming of the dough. But pizza dough freezes well, so it’s simple enough to make it ahead of time, stick it in the freezer, and pull it out when you want it. I’ve still got half of this dough waiting in the freezer for next week.
This recipe is actually “pizza with onion confit,” and I briefly considered skipping it this week. But I skipped the Finnish pulla two weeks ago (regrettably), and I didn’t want to skip again. So, I thought, pizza is the ultimate customizable food, right? The focus here can be the pizza dough, the onion confit is just one of many, many topping options.
I’ve tried three or four pizza dough recipes, and a couple have been good, but none of them have been great. Some of them require a lot of work, others purport to be easy. I liked this one much better. It cooks up beautifully, and it is quite simple to put together.
The dough starts simply enough by combining yeast, water, flour, and olive oil to make a sponge. That rests a while until it’s doubled in size, and then the kneading starts. The only thing I didn’t like about this recipe is the assumption that one is using a mixer. I didn’t, because I don’t have one. Most of the other recipes in this book tell you what to do, no matter if it’s by hand or by machine. I figured, given the absence of mixing-by-hand instructions, I couldn’t over-knead the dough and went ahead until the dough looked like it should: smooth and elastic, a little sticky but not too much. It took a little longer than it would have by machine, but not so long that it was annoying. I prefer to knead by hand anyway. It’s a comforting exercise.
The dough was left to rise again, and it came out looking like a lovely ball of potential deliciousness, which was then flattened into a disk in preparation for rolling.
And then it was time to get to work. Instead of rolling it with a pin, I used my hands, which requires a little more time and patience, but I don’t like using my rolling pin unless I absolutely have to. It may not be the prettiest sight, but there is something nice and rustic-looking about a hand-shaped pizza pie crust.
The dough makes two pizzas, but next time, I might divide it into thirds. It was a large pizza (for two people) and made enough for dinner and the next day’s lunch. Also, I really wanted to roll it out a bit thinner (I prefer thinner crusts over thicker ones), but I had to stop because it got to the point where it wouldn’t fit onto my pizza stone.
So, next time, smaller amount and thinner crust. I’ll bet it will still be delicious.
On to the toppings! This is always the fun part of making pizza. I decided that I did want a tomato sauce (the onion confit went without), so I threw a can of crushed tomatoes into a saucepan, added garlic, threw in some chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and let it simmer until the liquid had evaporated. While that went on, I assembled my toppings.

A tin of smoked oysters, a couple tablespoons of capers, sliced fresh mozzarella, and about a dozen of Dorie Greenspan’s herbed olives. And I couldn’t resist a sprinkle of Parmigiano cheese.
The oysters were one of the reasons I decided to go ahead with the pizza. My mother had brought them from her place to put in my Christmas stocking; I’m pretty sure Geordie and I bought them last year and forgot to bring them with us when we moved. Smoked oysters have kinda been a New Year’s tradition for us, so I knew when we were going to eat them, just not how. I wanted to do something interesting with them. After scouting about on the internet a while, I figured why not put them on the pizza?
So that’s just what I did.
After seeing how much the crust puffed up, I’m definitely thinking that dividing the dough into thirds is the best way to go. It puffed up a lot. And I was a little worried about how I would like it, because I’m not overly fond of a chewy, dense pizza crust. I prefer thin crusts, light and crisp.
Well, this wasn’t a crispy pizza crust, but it was light and airy. Not at all dense, which really was a delightful discovery. Nor was it overly chewy. It had a lovely texture and consistency, a little crunchy on the outside but soft in the middle, but not too doughy. And light. It’s not a crust that weighs you down. And for something that has only four ingredients, it tastes wonderful.
A very nice dish for the weekend! Geordie thought the oysters overwhelmed the rest of the toppings, but I really liked the combination. It did have a bit of brininess to it, what with the oysters and the capers, but I guess that’s something I like. What I really loved was the sauce. Very flavorful and hearty in its own way. I don’t like a pizza sauce that’s runny or too thin, so this one definitely worked for me. We’re already thinking about what we want to put on the next pizza!
So, yeah, this one’s going to be the go-to pizza dough recipe from now on. I love that it can be made ahead and kept in the freezer, I love that it really is so easy to work with, I love that it tastes delicious! It really is everything a pizza dough should be, but it’s the first one that’s really been what I wanted it to be.
No complaints here! To see what the other bakers think, check out the Tuesdays with Dorie links. And if you’d like to give the dough a try yourself, hop over to this week’s host, The Boy Can Bake, to check out the recipe. Happy baking!
22 comments
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January 8, 2013 at 8:58 am
Elaine
Happy New Year, Sara! Your pizza looks wonderful and I bet was delicious with the smoked oysters and capers. I agree that this is the perfect pizza dough and it will be fun experimenting with toppings.
January 8, 2013 at 10:43 am
Krissy
Well, that’s a new one…I can’t say I’ve ever even thought of oysters on pizza. We liked the dough too, and it’s fun to play with toppings…whatever makes you happy! Good job!
January 8, 2013 at 12:26 pm
SandraM
Your pizza looks awesome. Love how perfectly the crust has puffed up. Just beautiful. I love pizza for the fact that the dough is a blank slate and anything can be added to it.
January 8, 2013 at 12:39 pm
melimelocooks
Yummy!!! your pizza looks great, I love your garnish!!! A pizza is a really fun dish to make, lot of fun and imagination!!! Anyway it was a good experience! Well done sara!!!
January 8, 2013 at 3:31 pm
crumbsandsprinkles
This looks great! The toppings sound so interesting! Capers are an inspired idea…did they work well? I wish I’d have thought to put capers on mine.
January 10, 2013 at 9:31 pm
Sara
I really liked the capers with this one. Pizza is one of the few ways my husband will eat capers, and I love them, so I always use pizza as an excuse for them! They were a very nice accent to the rest of the toppings!
January 12, 2013 at 5:50 am
crumbsandsprinkles
I’ll definitely give them a go then! I love capers too but don’t know many recipes with them in so I’m always looking for more ways to incorporate them.
January 8, 2013 at 5:12 pm
Jill
Your version sounds delicious – especially with the capers and herbed olives. I really liked this crust also!
January 8, 2013 at 5:47 pm
Andrea
Sara, what a wonderful array of ingredients for the topping – your pizza must have tasted fabulous – I love the idea of adding smoked oysters to this pizza (I love seafood on my pizza) and your crust looks picture perfect!
January 8, 2013 at 10:05 pm
Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories
Hi Sara! Your pizza looks soooo good. I have some fresh mozz in the fridge that needs to be used. I will definitely try it with the other half of the dough. It looks so melty and yummy!
January 9, 2013 at 3:03 am
saucygander
The dough was great, wasn’t it? It was airy yet crusty for me too. Now I want to try the pizza again with your toppings.
January 9, 2013 at 5:04 am
Lyndell
oh yum! We spend a small fortune on pizza – I will have to give this a go and save some $$
January 9, 2013 at 11:12 pm
gfcelebration
Your crust looks fabulous and we love your choice of toppings. Looks delicious. There is nothing like fresh mozzarella. Great post. Happy New Year.
January 10, 2013 at 11:13 am
teaandscones
This just became my go-to pizza dough. I think cheese in the dough would be good, too. Yours looks like my favorite kind!
January 10, 2013 at 2:15 pm
galettista
I agree that this dough was easy to work with. And I think I’ll also divide it into thirds or fourths the next time.
January 10, 2013 at 9:18 pm
yummychunklet
After seeing how easy it is to make pizza dough, I may be investing in a pizza stone now!
January 10, 2013 at 9:23 pm
Sara
Do it! I’ve had mine almost ten years now, it’s been moved around several times, and it’s still in excellent shape. My mom had it while I was in Japan, and she used it for baking frozen pizzas, and she swore they tasted better. It’s also great for cookies and rounded bread loaves. I love it!
January 11, 2013 at 10:50 pm
Cathleen
I agree this is an easy dough to work with. Interesting topping choices! Pizza = versatility! Your pizza turned out beautiful!
January 12, 2013 at 12:32 pm
Cher
The oyster topped pizza sounds like something worth trying!
This wasn’t my favorite dough, but it was very easy to work with.
January 13, 2013 at 11:04 pm
Katrina
I agree about always making homemade dough for crust. And I like thin, too. I would surely make this crust again.
January 14, 2013 at 10:27 pm
breaddivas
Love the fresh mozzarella, it looks so delicious. I loved this pizza dough too and completely agree with you that fresh dough is the best!
January 26, 2013 at 8:06 am
Ckay
Sara, you’ve baked such a wonderful pizza , and what a delicious filling. I’m so glad you liked it.
(PS: sorry for being sooo late)