After the dough has rested, turn it out onto a very lightly floured work surface and knead it by hand about 20-30 times. (If your dough has the perfect consistency, you don't even need to flour the surface.)
Typically, pizza dough is degassed twice because the recipe often calls for you to degas the dough after each rise. The second time occurs after the second rise, and this time it's crucial because the gluten has had time to develop again.
Transfer the dough to a floured worktop (wood or granite are ideal). Then roughly knead the dough for around 5 minutes. Kneading is very important to the recipe as it develops the gluten within the dough, making it stretchy with an elastic feel.
Though it's important to knead your dough thoroughly, it's not necessary to knead your dough for long. We recommended kneading your dough for about 4 to 6 minutes! Over-kneading your dough will create a fine, crumb-like texture, giving your dough a bready texture rather than a light and airy pizza crust.
The first knead builds and organizes gluten so that the dough is smooth and elastic. It can now hold on to gases and allow the dough to rise in volume. The second knead breaks up these large bubbles of CO2. These came from the first frenzy of yeast activity once it came in contact with food from the flour and water.
Yes. After the first rise, you can knead the dough lightly to remove some gas that causes air bubbles. This step is ideal if you want your dough to be flat and dense or if you want bread with a close crumb, like sourdough. If you prefer sourdough with an open crumb, just knead the dough lightly.
Your dough will be shaggy and lumpy to begin with, but once you've kneaded it for a while it should be smooth and slightly tacky to touch. If your dough holds it shape and doesn't ooze or sag when you hold it up, that's another good sign that your dough is well kneaded.
The longer the yeast has had to feast – ideally 24 to 48 hours – the lighter and more flavorful the pizza dough will be. It will also be easier to digest because the yeast has done the job of breaking down ingredients that your stomach would have otherwise had to handle.
The longer you knead the dough, the less sticky it will become. Strangely, if you do not rehydrate your yeast correctly this can also result in a sticky dough. Active dry yeast needs to be rehydrated with warm water to activate it correctly and cause it to bloom.
Sometimes when too much flour is added, dough will come out hard and stiff. This can be caused by overworking the dough either by hand or with a roller. Overworking dough will pop all the tiny bubbles that make pizza crust so airy and fluffy once cooked. The hard crust can also be caused by the type of flour you use.
Final Proofing
You can do the final proofing either at room temperature or at a lower temperature to slow it down. Pizza dough should proof in room temperature anywhere from 1 to 24-hours or even more. While cold-proofing a pizza dough can take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours.
When ready to use, let the dough sit out on the countertop for 30 minutes to warm up before stretching. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. As you can see, it will rise a bit.
Once you've made your pizza dough, you can place it in the fridge and let it rise overnight for up to 24 hours. Take it out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before you intend on using it to let it come to room temperature.
Standard pizza dough (with more yeast) can sit out on the counter for 2-4 hours, while a Neapolitan-style pizza dough (with less yeast) can be left out for up to 24 hours.
After the first rise, it's important to punch down the dough to prevent it from over-proofing. Overproofed bread is dense and unable to retain the gas bubbles necessary for the structure of the bread loaf. Let the dough rise to double its original size before punching it down.
You can gently deflate the dough, reshape it, and set it to rise again. Watch it very carefully, as this third rise will go quite quickly and probably won't be as high.
Cook's Illustrated says to make cold water doughs for bread and pizza recipes because they benefit from long, slow, yeasted rises. The cold water maintains the gluten structure that traps gasses produced by the yeast and adds flavor to the bread.
Over proofing or fermenting the dough can also result in the gluten structure weakening causing sticky dough. Sticky dough isn't necessarily a bad thing, although I appreciate how frustrating it is for a new baker.
Kneading allows the gluten strand to stretch, aiding in that gluten production that allows the dough to become springy and elastic. After kneading the dough, it's important to let it prove as this will give the dough a chance to develop and gain the consistency it needs before being prepped and cooked.
Can pizza dough be over proofed? Well yes, pizza dough can be over proofed. In the most extreme cases, over proofed dough can lead to a dense and tough dough that makes poor quality pizza.
A night in the fridge gives the delicious pizza flavours time to merge and mellow in a satisfying way. The pizza keeps its structure when cold, and the tomato layer prevents fat in the cheese topping from seeping into the dough base.
Warm dough is much easier to work with, so be sure to allow your pizza dough to warm up to at least room temperature before stretching it. Prepare your work surface with a sprinkling of flour to keep the dough from sticking.
Loaves made with over-kneaded dough often end up with a rock-hard crust and a dense, dry interior. Slices will be very crumbly, especially toward the middle.
Attach the dough hook and start the stand mixer on low speed for about 30 seconds, then turn to medium speed and knead for about 8 - 10 minutes. The dough is ready when it looks smooth and does not stick to the sides of the bowl.