Pizza dough

[Outoutoutshout]

Where did I go wrong on my first attempt at pizza dough? It ended up really heavy and stodgy and didn't prove/rise in any way at all.

What I did:

1. Boiled water and let it cool to a warm temperature.
2. Added yeast to the water and left to activate for 5 minutes.
3. Added a pinch of salt and the water/yeast to 00 flour.
4. Kneaded for just over 5 minutes.
5. Left to prove for nearly 2 hours in a warm room (no rise AT ALL).

I used the dough even though it hadn't risen as I didn't have time to re do it but it was really heavy and stodgy.

Where did I go wrong?

Your yeast was either dead or you have killed it as the water was too hot

what sort of yeast? Fresh/dried easy bake?

Was the yeast old? That could explain the lack of rise. Or maybe you didn't knead thoroughly enough, although it was long enough. Did the recipe call for boiled water? I usually use warm from the tap. Not sure whether that would make a difference though.

Could the flour have been stale?

It was dried easy bake (new well in date). You could be right about water being too hot. Is it just supposed to be luke warm?

New flour too

Usually a recipe will call for tepid or luke warm water, yes. It's so frustrating when dough doesn't work though. We have homemade pizza nearly every week and sometimes it just doesn't work that well even though I think I make it the same way each time!

Dip your finger in the water you shouldn’t be able to feel it. That sort of tepid temperature

I cheat and use my breadmaker to make the dough!!!

Also, best to add the salt to the flour. If you added the salt to the yeast, it could've killed it.

The dried easy bake goes into the flour, not the water.

The water shouldn’t be hot, only warm.

My recipe ( ooni) says to boil 2/3 of the water then add the last last 1/3 cold, so the water is the correct temperature. Have not had any not rise yet and I used to be useless with dough.

Thanks everyone. I think it must have been the water temp. It was definitely warmer than tepid.

I would say water may have been too hot and also knead for 10 minutes next time.

Oh god I didn't know that 😂

The water may have been too hot, I’ve always just used water from the tap. This is my favourite recipe as it doesn’t mean waiting too long for it to rise and it’s still nice and light.

Look for Ken Forkish on YouTube.

Pizza express revealed their recipes during lockdown and it's foolproof.

Tepid water.

Mix in the dried yeast, stir, getting rid of any lumps of yeast that might form.

Stir frequently.

I like to wait until there is least a half inch of foam formed at the top to the water/yeast mixture before adding it to the flour.

Water too hot, or salt into the yeast mixture killed it. Easy bake yeast, I just sling into a bowl with flour, sugar, and salt on the other side to the yeast. Stir in water - from the tap. Mid winter I might add a splash of kettle water to the tap water to warm it up a bit.

I use this recipe with body temperature water - it’s failsafe! Works best with a mixer and dough hook but have also used it on holiday by hand. The time is for a thin crust but just leave it a bit longer when you’ve assembled the pizza if you want a more risen crust.

www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/bread/quick-pizza-dough

Get the PizzApp app for quantities. Screen shot attached. Need some accurate scales.

I use kitchen aid water. Cold tap water and yeast mix for a 30 seconds. Then flour until almost combined. Then salt. Salt kills the yeast.

We have a gozney pizza oven and this works. Check out the gozney videos on you tube. The peddling pizza one is the best for basic dough.

As above - water too hot, or dead.
Or buy fresh yeast, most supermarkets with bakeries have fresh yeast, sometimes you have to be a bit cheeky and ask the baker direct if you can have some if it's not on general sale (have Italian restaurant/DH is a pizza chef)

If you are in a hurry just use a plain scone recipe for the base.... just as tasty, much quicker as there no waiting for the yeast to work.. roll thinner than the thickness you want to end up with.

I've never added dried fast yeast directly to water, always flour then yeast one side, salt the other then mix in water

I always add the yeast to warm water with a teaspoon of sugar to get it going. As a PP said, in a few minutes you can see the foam on top so you know the yeast is working before you add it to the flour..