Beer-Based Pizza Dough Recipe
When you think of pizza, you probably think of ordering takeout from your favorite pizza place — and there's nothing wrong with that! If you do feel adventurous and want to make homemade pizza, it's easiest to opt for premade, ready-to-bake dough. There's nothing wrong with convenience, but as it turns out, it really is incredibly easy to make fresh, homemade pizza dough. Yes, it is time consuming, as you'll have to let the dough rest, but with Stephanie Rapone's beer-based pizza dough recipe, you won't have to worry about activating yeast or allowing the dough to rise. "I love that this dough doesn't require you to use yeast or a rising process," Rapone explains. "While you do have to let the dough rest, it's not so dependent on the yeast rising properly (which can be 'moody' if the weather or temperature isn't right)."
If you're worried that the dough won't taste quite right without yeast, fear not — there very much will still be yeast in the recipe! Instead of using a little packet of it, however, you'll thank your favorite pilsner for providing such flavor. "The beer is the special ingredient here, providing rise and a bit of that 'yeasty' flavor without yeast," Rapone explains. The beer really provides quite the shortcut with this recipe, not to mention flavor. Plus, you'll have five beers left of the six-pack you'll buy to make this recipe, so you can crack one open and enjoy it with your homemade pizza.
Gather the ingredients for beer-based pizza dough
Every recipe starts with securing the ingredients, and for this one, the list is short. You'll need bread flour, baking powder, kosher salt, a 12-ounce beer (Rapone recommends something light, like a pilsner), and some olive oil for drizzling. Of course, this ingredients list covers only the dough — as for how you choose to adorn your pizza, well, that fun part is up to you.
Mix up a beer-infused dough
First, grab a large bowl, and add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk those ingredients to make sure they're thoroughly combined, then crack open that beer. Slowly pour the beer into the flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon, continuously stir it into the dry ingredients. Stop stirring once you have a sticky dough, and lightly oil your hands and use them to work the dough, just until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Knead and form dough balls
Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour, and once again oil your hands. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and begin to knead it with your hands, until it starts to form a more cohesive, elastic dough. If it's sticking to either your hands or the work surface, simply sprinkle on a little more flour. Once you have an easily-workable dough, divide it in half, and shape each piece into a ball. "Don't overwork the dough right away," Rapone advises. "Once it comes together, just get it in the ball shape and let it rest." Cover the dough balls with a kitchen towel, allowing them to rest for 30 minutes.
Once the half hour is up, knead each dough ball again. They should be nice and smooth at this point, so drizzle some olive oil onto each one, and let them rest for another 1-2 hours. "I always recommend longer rest instead of shorter rest periods," Rapone notes. During this time, the gluten will relax, making the dough much easier to roll out.
Bake and adorn your pizza as desired
This is a recipe for pizza dough itself, though Rapone does offer insight into adorning and baking a pizza. Get your oven preheating to 500 F and roll the dough out to about 12-inches in diameter. Dock the dough by poking holes in it with a fork, which will help steam escape as it bakes, and it will pop air bubbles in the dough. Finally, adorn your pizza with your favorite toppings. "We love simple pizza around here — just our favorite sauce with mozzarella, parmesan, and fresh basil; or sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni," Rapone recommends. "But this crust is super versatile and would be great with any toppings!" So, yes, that is your sign to get creative.
Once you're ready to bake the pizza, ideally place it on a pizza stone, then put it on the highest rack in the oven. Allow it to bake for 10-12 minutes, and voila! — you have a delicious, beer-based pizza, and it really wasn't that much more work than picking up the phone and ordering one, right? And, don't forget to crack open one of those extra beers to enjoy the perfect combo of cold beer and pizza.
- 3 ½ cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 12 ounces beer (a light flavor, like a pilsner), room temperature
- olive oil, for drizzling
- Measure the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Using a wooden spoon or spatula, slowly pour the beer into the flour mixture while stirring. Once a sticky dough forms, stop stirring. Lightly oil your hands and continue to knead the dough with your hands until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Very lightly dust your work surface with flour.
- Oil your hands with olive oil and place the dough on your work surface. Knead it until it comes together and is elastic. If it starts to stick, sprinkle the dough with more flour.
- Divide the dough in half and form each half into a ball. Cover with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, knead each dough ball again, this time until they're smooth. Drizzle the dough with oil. Rest for 1-2 hours, until the gluten has relaxed and the dough is easy to roll out.
- When you are ready to make your pizza, preheat your oven with a pizza stone or steel on the highest rack to 500 F. Roll out the dough until it's about 12-inches in diameter, dock the dough using a fork to try to pop air bubbles in the dough. Then, top with your favorite toppings, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. You can also bake on a baking sheet if you don't have a pizza stone.
| Calories per Serving | 496 |
| Total Fat | 4.9 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0.7 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 |
| Cholesterol | 0.0 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 90.8 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2.9 g |
| Total Sugars | 0.4 g |
| Sodium | 491.2 mg |
| Protein | 14.8 g |
