Basic pizza dough

Michael believes that what makes his pizza so unique is that when his customers at Bottega Coco enjoy it, they can feel his love and passion. He says that allowing your dough to rest and ferment for 24 hours is key to a great crust with the right amount of crisp and chew. His favourite pizza is a margherita with cheese, tomato sauce, and basil - the simplicity of the pizza allows the ingredients to shine.

With these techniques, you can also make restaurant quality pizza at home. Credit: Tammi Kwok

• makes

  6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 kg '00' flour
• 750 ml water
• 10 g fresh yeast, or you can also use 1 tbsp dried yeast
• 30 g of salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Resting time: 28 hours

Instructions

1. Add the flour, water, and yeast to a bowl and mix to combine. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes
   
2. Add in the salt and mix it again to combine. Shape the dough into a ball and coat it with olive oil. Let it rest again until it triples in size, which typically takes 4 hours. If it’s winter, you need to keep the dough warm- it's recommended that you wrap it in a tea towel or blanket and keep it in a drought-free place for about 4 hours. If you're attempting this in summer, the dough will rise quickly due to the heat— you can leave it at room temperature for about one hour.
   
3. Once tripled in size, remove the dough from the bowl and then divide the dough into six even balls. With each ball, flatten it slightly with your palm and fold the edge into the centre, making a sort of mushroom shape. Turn it over so the seam is facing down, and tighten it into a ball.
   
4. When the dough balls are smooth, place the balls individually on a tray (sprinkle some flour on the tray before placing them), cover them loosely and refrigerate them for 24 hours so they can ferment.
   
5. After fermentation, take the dough balls out of the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature before using them to make your favourite pizza.

This recipe is part of our SBS Food social video series, I Want to Make That. Follow the series on our Instagram and TikTok. Interested in more recipes and videos? Why not try making kimchi or shaping ma'amoul at home?

This recipe was provided to SBS Food by Bottega Coco. Photography by Tammi Kwok.

Watch our social recipe video here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.