Homemade pizza dough is something I’ve always struggled with. You’d think it would be pretty hard to make a bad pizza, but somehow I’ve achieved it on many (...many...) occasions.
The main issue is that I find baking with yeast seeeeriously stressful - hence the lack of recipes containing yeast on this blog! I don’t know what it is, I just find it terrifying. Beforehand, I think it will all be fine, but as soon as I start mixing everything up, my heart starts beating really fast and I get all clammy (TMI?).
What happens if I leave the yeast bubbling away for too long? Or not long enough? Will I go away to let it prove and end up forgetting all about it? Will I get too nervous and use the dough before it’s ready? Ahhhhhh.
I literally turn into a quivering wreck. Which is absolutely ridiculous, really. I’m a fully grown woman who cooks for a living, and I’m terrified of a bit of yeast.
This would all be fine if it wasn’t for the fact that I would love to be one of those women whose house always smells of freshly baked bread. You absolutely can’t beat it. So, I thought I’d give it one more go. I found this beer pizza crust recipe on Mess Makes Food and thought it looked easy enough - plus you know I love cooking with beer, so it was definitely a goer.
I used a new free app called Diiing to see if I could reduce my yeast-induced trembling. And that’s not a typo, by the way - there are 3 i’s. Diiiiiiiing.
Diiing allows you to program in different timings for a complex recipe or meal. It dings (hence the name!) when it’s time to move onto the next task. I’m thinking it would be great to help with cooking a big roast dinner, so you know when to put the next vegetable on, exactly how long your broccoli’s been boiling, etc. When you’re doing lots of simultaneous tasks (e.g. roasting potatoes and boiling veg at the same time), it also helps you to ensure that everything will finish at the same time, so you don’t have to leave your veg sitting there going cold because you put it on too early (…just me?).
While I was making my pizza dough, I used Diiing to help me keep track of how long I had to leave the yeast to froth, and the dough to prove, and the pizzas to bake. I also added a couple more hands-on tasks - I estimated that it would take me about ten minutes to faff around with sauce and toppings, for example. If you find that tasks like this are taking longer than you expected, you can always pause the app until you’re ready to continue.
I really appreciated having this app watching out for me while I was making the pizza dough! It was nice to know that I’d be called back to the kitchen by the ‘ding’ when the dough had finished proving.
By the way, this pizza crust: complete and utter success. Undoubtedly the best pizza I've ever made from scratch. Just look at it! Perfect, if I do say so myself!
In my opinion, pizza is allllll about the cheese. I'm definitely a thin crust person - the bread is only there as a vehicle for the cheese and toppings. To me, a thick doughy crust is just a waste of precious belly space.
In the past I've tried to make thin crust pizzas and for some reason, they've always risen anyway. I'll admit, I'm fairly certain that it's usually my fault, but still. They just never seem to work properly. This beer pizza crust stayed nice and thin - as long as you punch it down a bit after it's finished proving, it shouldn't rise too much.
Peeeeerfect!
Beer pizza crust
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 14 g fast action dried yeast 2 sachets
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- 100 ml lukewarm water
- 575 g plain flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 440 ml beer
- Your choice of sauce cheese, and toppings
Instructions
- Add the yeast and sugar to the lukewarm water, and set aside for 10 minutes, until frothy.
- Meanwhile, mix the flour and salt in a large bowl.
- After ten minutes, add the yeast mixture and the beer to the flour, and mix well with a wooden spoon until fully combined. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel, and set aside for 30 minutes, until doubled in size.
- After 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
- Tip the dough out onto a work surface that has been thoroughly floured (the mixture will be very sticky). Using plenty more flour to help, punch the dough down, and work it for a few minutes until stretchy.
- Divide the dough into four, and transfer each ball of dough to a lined baking sheet. Gently press the dough outwards into a large circle (around 10 inches in diameter).
- Add your chosen sauce, cheese and toppings. Place in the oven, and bake for around 10-15 minutes, until the base is crispy and the cheese is golden brown.
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
For a less traditional pizza crust, try using naan bread!
Christine @ Ciao Veggie says
Doh! Today I was placing my weekly Ocado order and succumbed to the temptation of pre-made frozen pizza dough (which I now realise cost as much as a complete frozen pizza anyway). Consider me shamed :(
I am really intrigued by this idea! Can you taste the beer? Does it add any sort of savoury flavour?
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
To be honest I couldn't particularly taste it, though I did only use a light lager. If you used a darker beer the flavour would probably be stronger :)
Elizabeth says
I've never heard of using beer in pizza crust. Because son loves pizza I've made lots of pizza over the years for him and his friends. I use Jamie Oliver's pizza crust recipe and have found it virtually fail safe.
Ashley @ QLCC says
What an awesome idea! I wonder if the types of beer would greatly affect the flavor...
Sally - My Custard Pie says
Will try adding a bit of beer to the dough next time I make pizza.
Little Miss Katy says
This looks fab! Out of curiosity, what herb is it you used in your cheese topping? xx
Little Miss Katy | UK Lifestyle & Fashion
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
If I remember rightly, it was just a pinch of Italian-style mixed herbs, nothing fancy :) if you don't have that I'd just go for dried thyme.
Lauren @ A Nerd Cooks says
This pizza looks delicious!
Diiing seems pretty cool. I think I need to check that out to help alleviate my yeast-related fears =)
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health says
i am always looking for new pizza crust - will try this one soon.
Holland's Reverie says
YUM!!! I love a good home made pizza recipe. I live out in the country so if I want a good pizza, its got to be homemade;) Great pictures too!
Joe Watkins says
Thanks Becca - I'm salivating at those pictures. Damn you, there goes another diet! Diiing looks cool too - is it available from the app store or is this a preview you've been sent? I've messed up the timings on so many recipes I can't tell you - I hope it's good!
Also, I like a thick base on my pizzas (yes, I'm American) - can this recipe be used to make a thicker base?
Thanks!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Hi Joe! Ha, sorry about the diet! :P Diiing is available now.
I actually found that after splitting the dough into four, if I left them to rise for another half an hour or so and then spread them into a pizza shape without punching them down, they rose more when cooking. This is just my personal experience though, I don't know if that's what was meant to happen, or if it would happen again (...I'm clearly a master baker) but it's worth a try :)
Joe Watkins says
Awesome - thank you!
Jacki @ Two Forks One Love says
Out of curiosity what type of beer did you use? I can imagine an IPA would result in a very different flavor than an amber.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I just used a generic lager, nothing fancy! I'm not much of a beer connoisseur ;) just use something you like the flavour of!