This post describes my first pizza 🍕 dough. I can’t tell you how many pizzas I’ve eaten in 55 years. I’ve never made one though. I remember as a young man I could eat whole large pizzas with ease. I loved eating a pizza on my own or with friends. I happily ate pizzas with all sorts of toppings so long as there was cheese.
Dedicated to GC who tempts me out of my comfort zone. I even bought a rolling pin today.
🇮🇹 🇮🇹. 🇮🇹
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As I’ve aged and fluctuated in weight and fluctuated in healthy biochemistry I’ve basically reduced my consumption of pizza to a treat maybe once or twice a year. After being advised by my GP last year to live a low carb life I mostly don’t eat bread, pasta (Asian and Italian), rice (Asian and Italian [risotto]), or cake. However, from time to time, I will indulge because life’s too short not to enjoy something I crave. It’s not like I’m going to do this every week, but a weekend of indulgence (see below what I mean by that) every so often helps me appreciate the treats even more.
Thanks GC for my first pizza dough
So why am I doing this? Well, you’ve read before about the inspiration I’ve enjoyed from my Italian friend, GC. GC has given me inspiration for noodle bolognese, Mayver’s peanut paste curry, and roast pumpkin. GC and I share food photos and she regularly makes pizza. I asked GC for the recipe and she pointed me to a Facebook video which described what to do. As I was contemplating this I also remembered that before being told by my GP to live low carb, I had bought a bread-making machine. So, I adapted the recipe from GC, downscaled it a bit and made the dough in the machine.
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Recipe
It’s important to read the recipe before cooking because the timing of processes needs to be understood.
My first pizza dough. No, this is not a low carb version. No, it doesn’t have pineapple.
My first pizza dough. No, this is not a low carb version. No, it doesn’t have pineapple. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Pizza dough
- 1½ cups warm water
- 1 pinch caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons dried yeast
- 4 cups plain flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
Pizza topping
- Salami
- Tomato paste
- Dried basil
- Bocconcini
- Mushrooms
- In a glass mixing bowl add the water, sugar, and yeast. The sugar is optional but provides fuel for the yeast to consume as part of the blooming fermentation.
- Whisk the suspension of yeast and allow the yeast to bloom.
- In another glass mixing bowl add the flour and salt and then make a well and add the olive oil.
- Add the bloomed yeast to the olive oil in the flour well and mix everything with a spatula until it forms a smooth ball of dough.
- Gently knead the dough into a ball.
- With a brush, oil the inside of a glass mixing bowl and add the ball of dough and oil the surface of the dough.
- Seal the glass mixing bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot for 30 minutes so the dough proves. This could take a lot longer, e.g., maybe 3 hours.
- Sprinkle flour on to a board and then tip out the proved dough onto the board.
- Form the dough into a log with your hands and cut into three even-sized pieces.
- Roll the dough flat and then top with tomato paste, and your choices of cured meats, fungi, vegetables, and cheeses.
- Put into a hot oven and cook until the dough has cooked through.
Plating up bit
- Remove the pizza from the oven and cut it into slices.
- An Italian would use one of those fancy pizza cutters.
- I use a Chinese meat cleaver.
Blogging bit
- Shoot a photograph.
- Eat the meal.
- Wash the dishes (hint, wash as you cook, it makes life easier).
- Write the recipe.
- Write the blog post.
- Hit publish and hope this blog post gets shared on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.
Disclaimer I have no culinary training nor qualifications. This post is not intended to convey any health or medical advice. If you have any health concerns about anything you read, please contact your registered medical practitioner. The quantities are indicative. Feel free to vary the quantities to suit your taste. I deliberately do not calculate the energy for dishes. I deliberately default to 500 Calories or 500,000 calories because I do not make these calculations.
Photographs of my first pizza dough
This is a gallery of photographs. Click on one image and then scroll through the photographs. I’ve been told the gallery doesn’t always work on older versions of Windows Internet Explorer. I suggest Google Chrome or using a Mac.
Flour, oil, water, yeast, and iodised salt. 
Flour, oil, water, yeast, and iodised salt. 
Flour, oil, water, yeast, and iodised salt. 
It’s important to spread flour all over the place. 
It’s important to spread flour all over the place. 
Shaping the dough 
Shaping the dough 
Shaping the dough with a rolling pin 
Tomato paste on the pizza dough 
Dried basil and tomato paste on the pizza dough. 
Coon™ mozzarella cheese slices, dried basil, and tomato paste on the pizza dough. 
Hungarian salami slices, torn bocconcini, sliced mushrooms, Coon™ mozzarella cheese slices, dried basil, and tomato paste on the pizza dough. 
Hungarian salami slices, torn bocconcini, sliced mushrooms, Coon™ mozzarella cheese slices, dried basil, and tomato paste on the pizza dough. On a baking sheet ready for the oven. 
My first pizza just cooked coming from the oven. 
My first pizza just cooked and ready to cut into slices. 
Chinese pizza cutter | Meat cleaver and Dick knife 
New rolling pin 
My first pizza just cooked and cut into slices. 
My first pizza just cooked and cut into slices. 
My first pizza just cooked and cut into slices. 
My first pizza crusts. Do you eat the crusts of your pizza? 🍕
Questions and answers
Pineapple? Yes or no?
If someone gives me pizza and it’s got pineapple on it, I’ll eat it. I won’t pick it off. I love ❤️ love ❤️ love pineapple, but that said, if I have a choice, I wouldn’t ask for pineapple on a pizza because 🍍+🍕=🤬
As I’ve got older, I prefer more simple toppings. Even just some tomato paste and cheese and maybe some basil is enough more often than not. If I want some meat, I’m happy with salami or pepperoni or even ham or bacon. Vegetables could be something simple like red onion or capsicum. I also like mushrooms. You’ll note I’m being a bit pedantic by not listing mushrooms as a vegetable option.
For my first pizza dough though, pineapple is not an option 😂
Why aren’t mushrooms in the vegetable group?
Well, this is more of a technical thing and relates to being a microbiologist to my core.
What do mushrooms and yeast have in common with this pizza? They are both fungi. When I think about fungi I have three thoughts, yeasty goodness, toxic mould, and yummy mushrooms. Whenever I see a yeast, usually a Candida species growing in blood collected for culture, I often exclaim, “Yeasty goodness”. I mean, for the patient any yeast infection whether it be candidæmia or thrush, it’s bad news, but for me, I love seeing yeast cells down the microscope or growing on a culture plate.
I love eating mushrooms, so mushrooms make it to this pizza. My first pizza dough.
So why is this a weekend of indulgence?
Last night I went out for a friend’s birthday. We went to Otis Dining Hall and enjoyed a degustation meal with matching wines. Well, I didn’t have matching wines because I can’t drink alcohol. I had an elderflower and lime mocktail which was like drinking sweet cordial. Not unpleasant at all but I could feel my pancreatic islet cells squeezing.
It was a delightful meal and my favourite dish was the steak followed by the creme caramel. I mean, everything was delicious, but the pepper steak was perfectly cooked and the Parisian mash was basically potato and butter and everything tastes better with butter.
Today, I had a teleconference to participate in and rather than cook lunch, I used the free coffee and cake option on my Dobinsons coffee card and got a vanilla slice. I balanced the meal with a load of fructose from a crunchy Pink Lady apple.
Final thoughts
- Do you make your own pizza dough? What did you think of my first pizza dough?
- Do you have friends you share food photos with?
- What do you like on your pizza?
Sponsorship
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Oh Gary pizza once or twice a year! That is very….strict. Pizza and bread is basically most of my diet over winter so I don’t think I could do it unless a doctor gave me a serious talking to. I don’t mind pineapple on a pizza but it’s not my favourite and would probably be quite far down on my list of favourite pizzas.
I just ate the remainder of the dough and it had a different taste. I liked it. I’m going to do this again. Please don’t tell my GP.
Great job on that pizza!!! We make pizza at the Fixin’ Leaks and Leeks headquarters every Friday–we love it. Our sourdough starter is still alive and doing well, so we use it as our yeast, and the pizza comes out so tasty. Cheers!
Thanks, it sounds like you have a great pizza routine.
As a pizza lover, I say eating the crust is a must…if the crust is not too hard in the end. That is a great effort, Gaz. First pizza dough and pizza. It looks so good. Well done. I hope you make more pizza at home at some point. Maybe a KFC chicken pizza.
Can I ask where did you get the yeast? I’ve been trying to find yeast but can’t find any at Coles or Woolworths.
I don’t mind pineapple on pizza. Like you, I prefer simple pizzas. A plain cheese and tomato pizza with some sprinklings of herbs would be amazing. Don’t mind some ham on top. Truffle oil pizza and mushroom pizza is something I’m always up for.
Hi Mabel, I got the yeast from Coles. There was plenty at my local Coles. I hear things are getting sparse again in Melbourne.
I was pretty happy with the way this first pizza turned out. I bought some truffle cheese today, so that might work on the next pizza.
That is interesting. I will need to chat more about where to get yeast. Things are not looking good here in Melbourne. All the more reason to take care of ourselves, eat well and have treats. More pizza for you 😀
I hope you can find some yeast soon.
ohhhhhhh!!! I LOVE Pink Lady apples!!!! They make the prettiest sauce and when you use the sauce and chunks in an apple cake with cinnamon chips, stunning presentation! But, you asked about pizza.
I used to always make pizza dough in my bread machine. I have not very often used a rolling pin, though. The kid, however, prefers Papa Murphy take and bake. Probably cuz he has better topping choices! I like pineapple on pizza, but well, carbs. I have to be so careful with those darn things that I almost always eat The Craftsman’s crusts and one thin slice of my own with a large undressed salad! I like hamburger and bacon and chicken and Canadian bacon and not many veggies. Those go in the salad!
Thanks, Kris. I’m looking forward to using the rest of the dough.
If you didn’t add seasonings to the dough, it will make most anything. Although, even seasoned, it can make tasty not good for us treats! By the by, I enjoyed the menu you shared!! I’d probably not eaten much of it, but it was fun to read! I also laughed at the yeast comments. I’m always fascinated at how yeast grows…but not in me!!
The dinner out was great. I think I’ll have more mushrooms on the next pizza.
I understand your health concerns and applaud your years of careful eating. Pizza = <3
Thank you very much. I wish I had been more diligent as a young man.
No to pineapple, yes to eating the crust and it would be interesting to watch yeast cells grow. 😁 Good job on the pizza.
Thanks very much Karen 😃
Yes, I do make my own pizza dough, I’ve done numerous recipes but I think I’ve finally found “the one.” Pizza-making has been put on hold, though, until the fall due to the hot weather and I don’t want to heat up the house (although I may try to grill one). Also, I do eat the crusts because homemade pizza crust is just too good not to eat. Mushrooms are a regular addition to my pizzas, but not pineapple. Enjoyed the gallery, I was wondering how that worked, so maybe I will try it on my blog. Your finished pizza looks absolutely delicious!!
Hi Peg, thanks. In WordPress, in the block editor, there is a blocked named Gallery. If you choose that you can load multiple photographs and form different types of galleries.
Thank you for your kind words.
I too love pizza, and yes to pineapple!
I like putting dough in the fridge for a week or more until it sours… Sourdough Pizza!
I might have to try that too.
I just ate dough that had been refrigerated for three nights and I think it was a little sour. Next time, I’ll leave it for a week.
Soured dough has a sour taste, but the aroma isn’t sour at all. I can’t think how to describe it other than as being somewhat medicinal… Phenol, perhaps? It is actually sweet smelling more than sour, even with a faint resemblance to chloroform (in my experience, anyway)
I’ll experiment more. Thanks for the advice and description.
Looks like you had a great week! The menu at that restaurant! Blimey. Like you, I don’t eat pizza often but my husband makes his own dough because he’s got a bread machine too and an outdoor oven. It’s heavenly–streets apart from anything you can buy and a much, much cheaper (and better) than Domino’s. I’m with you on the simpler topping. Mozarella, tomato, shavings of Parmesan, fresh basil leaves when it comes out of the oven. Job done.
Thanks, Emma. I’ve got half the dough in the refrigerator and hopefully I’ll do something simple later this week.
Yum. Sandy freezes his so you have that option too.
It’s tempting to make more and freeze portions.
I recently had a ready-made naan type of pizza crust, topped with a little olive oil, cooked/frozen/thawed/cut up large 🍤🍤 homegrown basil & a crumbled medallion of goat-cheese.maybe with some 🍅 . 😋😋😋😋😋
Sounds delicious Alice.