**See Note below about yeast quantity**
American style pizza dough is very similar to New York style dough, but thicker, has a higher oil content, and is usually denser. American Style dough is meant to be hand-stretched. There are many variations used by pizzerias across the country. Some American doughs are high hydration – making a product that holds up to being in a pizza box without becoming tough and leathery, while others are made with a lower hydration level to give it a denser, more filling crust.
This dough recipe uses the dough conditioner PZ44® to help speed along gluten development so that it can be used in as little as three hours but ideally in eight, rather than waiting 24-48 hours. This is routinely called “emergency” dough.
In addition to speeding along gluten development, PZ44® also makes the dough easier to stretch, helps eliminate snapback, and enhances browning. PZ44® can be added to any dough recipe as 1-2% of flour weight.
Preparation Steps
Most planetary mixers mix dough on speed one. Consult your user’s manual for more information.
- Determine your water temperature for a finished dough temperature of 85° F. See Pizza Dough Crash Course or Dough Temp Worksheet for more info.
- Place flour and all dry ingredients into the mixer together (including the PZ44®) and blend for 30 seconds.
If you are making this as “emergency” dough that will be used in as little as three hours, use five ounces of Instant Dry Yeast. Otherwise, use 1.5 ounces of yeast if you will be using it in 24-48 hours.
- Add water and mix for 3 minutes. Most of the water should have been taken up into the flour at this point.
- Add oil and continue mixing for an additional 7 minutes or until dough is smooth and silky.
- Roll into dough balls and place onto a full-size sheet pan allowing 2-3 inches of room on each side for the dough ball to expand. Quickly spray the tops of the dough balls with a non-stick spray, cover with plastic wrap or a food-grade sheet pan bag, mark with the style, size, date, initials, and time – if desired.
For emergency dough: Allow to sit at room temperature for one hour before refrigerating.
For dough to be used in 24-48 hours: Refrigerate immediately.
- Remove from cooler and allow to warm up at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before using.
- Starters can be added to this recipe up to 20% of flour weight. Decrease flour and water in this recipe by the same amount contained in the starter.
- Use Baker’s Percent to increase or decrease batch sizes.
- Refer to your mixer’s Capacity Chart for the maximum size batch of dough it can handle.
** You will note that the video and the recipe have different yeast levels. You should try both and see which works best for you. We have used the high levels mentioned in the video with great success but some operators have reported too much yeast activity so we reduced the amount in the recipe to “normal” levels. Try both and use what makes you happy!
Recipe Details: American Style Dough w/ PZ-44
| Ingredient | Amount | Baker's Percent |
|---|---|---|
| High Gluten Flour 13-14.5% General Mills All Trumps® Preferred | 32 lbs. | 100% |
| Water | 17.25 lbs. | 54% |
| PZ44® Dough Conditioner | 10.25 oz. | 2% |
| Salt | 10.25 oz. | 2% |
| Sugar | 5 oz. | 1% |
| Instant Dry Yeast | 10 oz. / 3.8 oz. | 2% / .75% |
| Vegetable Oil | 10.25 oz. | 2% |
Dough Ball Sizes & Per Tray Suggestions
Use a ratio of .115 ounces of dough per square inch of pizza to properly size dough balls. Use “Pi R Squared” (3.14 x radius of circle squared) to calculate the area/square inches of a circle.| Size | Weight | Per Tray | Size | Weight | Per Tray |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8" | 6 oz. | 18 | 14" | 18 oz. | 8 |
| 10" | 9 oz. | 12 | 16" | 23 oz. | 6 |
| 12" | 13 oz. | 10 | 18" | 36 oz. | 5 |
