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Roberta's Pizza Dough With Store-Bought Yeast

4.4

(7)

Photo of Roberta's pizza dough recipe dough balls on a floured surface.
Photo by Ryan Rice

It took a very long time to get the pizza dough recipe at Roberta’s right. And we still tinker with it. Our pizza crust reaches back to some Italian traditions but it’s not classic Neapolitan by anyone’s definition. A true Neapolitan pie is so waifish that you have to eat it with a fork and knife. We think eating with your hands beats eating with a fork. So while our pizza is relatively thin, the crust is sturdy and chewy. You have to work with dough a few times to get a feel for how the way you handle it affects the texture. By combining yeast with flour and water, you create a living thing. Being a living thing, your dough is going to react to actions. Beat it up and it’s going to make your life really difficult. Stretch it against its will and it’s going to toughen up. But handle it like a newborn baby and it’s going to go pliable in your hands.

  

Your options for commercial yeast are fresh or active dry. Fresh yeast, also called cake yeast, makes for dough that’s arguably a little more flavorful, with a better, springier texture than active dry yeast. We like it.

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