Pizza Dough for the Outdoor Oven
3738kcal
Ingredients
The High-Heat Pizza Matrix
- 1000 g Tipo 00 flour Ideally a specialized pizza flour with roughly 12–13% protein
- 580 g Cold water 58% Hydration
- 3 g Instant dry yeast 0.3%
- 30 g Fine sea salt 3%
- 10 g Olive oil 1% - Optional, helps retain suppleness
Equipment
- Plastic Wrap or an airtight dough container
- Outdoor Pizza Oven (or a home oven with a pizza stone heated to maximum capacity)
Method
Day 1 – Passive Hand Mixing & Cold Bulk Fermentation
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the 1000g of Tipo 00 flour and 3g of instant dry yeast.
- Pour in 550g of the cold water (reserve 30g for later). Stir with your hands or a rigid dough whisk just until a shaggy, cohesive dough forms with no dry flour streaks. Cover the bowl and let rest for 20 minutes to jumpstart gluten development naturally.
- Pour the remaining 30g of water, 30g of fine sea salt, and the optional 10g of olive oil over the rested dough mass.
- Work the salt and oil into the matrix by squeezing and folding the dough firmly for 4 to 5 minutes until it turns completely smooth, non-sticky, and holds its shape in a tight ball.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and move it straight into the refrigerator for a long 20 to 24-hour cold fermentation retard. This slow, cold rest allows the yeast to slowly mature the starch network, delivering an incredible flavor profile and a crust that chars beautifully.
Day 2 – Division, Balling, and Blazing Bake
- 2 Hours Before Baking: Pull the cold dough out of the refrigerator. Tip it onto a clean, lightly floured workspace.
- Using a bench scraper and a kitchen scale, divide the large dough mass cleanly into 8 equal pieces weighing exactly 200g each.
- Shape each piece into a tight, smooth ball by pulling the outer edges down into the bottom center, then rolling it firmly against the counter under a cupped hand. Place the dough balls onto a lightly floured tray, cover them loosely, and let them rest at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours so the gluten relaxes completely.
- Fire up your outdoor pizza oven until the center of the baking stone registers at least 750–850°F (400–450°C) on an infrared thermometer.
- Dust your workspace with a bit of semolina or Tipo 00 flour. Take one relaxed dough ball and press your fingers firmly from the center outward to push the air into the rim (creating the cornicione). Gently stretch it out into a 10 to 12-inch circle without popping the puffy outer edge.
- Transfer the stretched crust onto a floured pizza peel, add a light layer of your favorite sauce and toppings, and slide it directly onto the roaring hot oven stone. Cook for 60 to 90 seconds, rotating the pizza every 20 seconds with a turning peel for an even, charred finish. Serve immediately!
Nutrition
Calories3738kcalCarbohydrates764gProtein105gFat20gSaturated Fat3gPolyunsaturated Fat5gMonounsaturated Fat8gSodium11678mgPotassium1101mgFiber28gSugar3gVitamin C0.01mgCalcium176mgIron47mg
Notes
- Why Low Hydration Wins in Outdoor Ovens: When baking pizza inside a standard kitchen home oven, high hydration levels (65–70%) are necessary to keep the crust from turning into a dry cracker during the long 10 to 15-minute bake. However, intense outdoor wood or gas-fired ovens cook pizzas in under 90 seconds. Dropping the hydration down to a tight 58% ensures that the interior cooks through completely without leaving behind a wet, gummy layer under the cheese.
- The Non-Negotiable Tipo 00 Flour Rule: Always use authentic Italian Tipo 00 flour for this recipe. This flour is exceptionally finely ground from durum wheat hearts and behaves uniquely under extreme heat. Standard all-purpose or bread flours contain complex starches that burn to a bitter ash at 800°F (425°C), whereas Tipo 00 withstands the open flames flawlessly to produce a soft, blistered, leopard-spotted crust.
- The Air-Preservation Stretch Technique: When preparing your dough circles in step 10, never use a rolling pin. Rolling pins flatten out the expanding carbon dioxide pockets completely, resulting in a dense, flat edge. Pressing with your fingertips from the center outward safely channels those delicate air pockets directly into the outer rim, guaranteeing a majestic, hollow, crispy puff in the oven fire.
- Managing Stickiness on the Pizza Peel: To prevent your raw pizza from sticking to your launching peel, dust the peel lightly with a 50/50 mix of Tipo 00 flour and coarse semolina flour right before placing the stretched dough on top. Work quickly once the sauce and cheese hit the dough—give the peel a gentle back-and-forth shake to ensure the pizza moves freely before launching it into the oven.