Roberta's Pizza Dough

When I want to make pizza that reminds me of home (NYC), this is the recipe I always go to. My sister Shannon used to live right across from Roberta’s in Brooklyn. It’s almost hard to see that there’s even a restaurant there. The outside walls are cement and covered in graffiti and stickers, but when you enter a large and open space appears with a kitchen in the back and a brick oven in the front with usually two dudes making these individual sized (but not too small) pizzas topped with incredible toppings you would never think to add to a pizza. Their crust is scorched (the good kind) and bubbly, chewy and crisp in all the right places, and the slices melt in your mouth. I don’t even know if they’re meant to be individual but I always ate a whole one when I went there.

I have to admit I have cheated and used this dough the same day, but if you want the best flavor, make this dough when you want to have the pizza the next day, because the flavor will improve if you let it rest in the fridge for 1-2 days. You’ll have to buy their book (which I highly recommend) if you want the recipes for the specific pizzas they have such as sausage with breadcrumbs, basil and pecorino, but I figured I’d share the dough recipe since it’s all over the internet anyway, and it’s my favorite.

This recipe uses grams as a measurement, it may be time for you to buy a good kitchen scale, it will change the way you bake for the better, and also skips the use of every measuring cup in your kitchen!

I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients because flour can vary a lot by the way you measure it. If you don’t have a scale, be sure to use a spoon to scoop the flour into your measuring cup, and then use the back of a knife to level it off being careful not to compact it down.

Recipe from Roberta’s Cookbook

Adapted by Tierney Larson

Servings: 2 12-inch pizza’s

Ingredients:

153g (about 1 1/4 cups) 00 flour

153g (about 1 1/4 cups) All Purpose Flour

8 grams (scant 2 tsp) of fine sea salt or kosher salt

2 grams (scant 1/2 tsp) of active dry yeast

4 grams (scant 1 tsp) of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

202 grams (1 cup minus 1 tbl) of lukewarm water

In a large bowl whisk together both flours and salt. In a smaller bowl mix together 200 grams of lukewarm water (about 110 degrees if you want to be exact), the yeast and the olive oil. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the center. Using your hand shaped like a toy vending machine claw, slowly incorporate the dry into the wet using a slow stirring motion. When you have a shaggy dough formed and all of the flour is incorporated, about 3 min later, leave the dough uncovered to let the flour absorb for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth for about 3-5 minutes. Divide the dough into two equal balls, (and if using the next day) wrap each in plastic wrap and place inside a ziplock (sometimes the dough will burst out if you wrap them too tightly so I always use a ziplock to make sure they don’t get exposed to the air if that happens). Place in the fridge for 24-48 hours. (I have to admit, I have let them rest in a lightly greased bowl outside of the fridge, covered the same day for 3-5 hours and then used them and they’re still great!!!shhhhh…)

When you’re ready to make the pizza:

Take the dough out of the wrapping and place in a bowl covered with a tea towel and allow to come to room temp for an hour or two. Also, preheat your oven to 500F, with a pizza stone inside if you have one. Let preheat for an hour for optimal results.

When ready, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and using your fingertips gently press them into the surface of the dough, going from the middle out, lightly allowing your fingertips to stretch it gently into a circle. Then, pick up the dough, and gently toss it back and forth between your cupped hands, turning it 45 degrees every few tosses so that it starts to form a circle. You can also pick the dough up draped over your fists and gently stretch and turn the dough that way.

Get the dough into a 11-12 inch circle and then place it onto a pizza peel lightly dusted with flour. (Don’t go any bigger or it will be super hard like a cracker after you bake it) Check to make sure your dough will slide if you shake the pizza peel, do this again after you top it. Quickly add any toppings you would like and then slide it onto your pizza peel. Bake for 4-8 minutes or until golden brown. The book also has you use the broiler towards the end of cooking for some charring on the crust.

Remove the pizza with your peel and enjoy!

My 3 year old son shaping the dough.