How Can I Use Bread Flour for Pizza Dough?

Pizza has an amazing combination of bread, cheese, sauce, and meat which is not only delicious to taste but also enjoyable to put together. Baking a pizza from scratch on your own is one of the most pleasurable things and it is very easy to do so.

You can make the dough of the pizza with bread flour. Bread flour has extra gluten in it that helps to bind everything better and gives the bread a better texture and taste. Although most recipes call for using all-purpose flour to make the pizza dough, you can very easily use bread flour to make it.

Bread flour makes fantastic pizza dough. You will need to knead it the same way you do to make dough from all-purpose flour. It is relatively easy to knead a dough with bread flour because the gluten binds quickly. Here I will discuss how to make a wonderful, soft, and flavorful pizza dough using bread flour in detail.

Can I Use Bread Flour for Pizza Dough

Yes, you can use bread flour to make pizza dough. Pizza dough is made and baked like a bread. It is kneaded with hand or with a dough hook attachment on the mixer and yeast is used as the leavening agent in the dough. You will have to prepare the pizza dough the same way you prepare a regular dough.

Bread flour has a higher protein content than regular all-purpose flour. This helps the flour to construct stronger and longer gluten chains in the dough as it gets kneaded and baked. This gives the pizza dough a more chewy texture than regular all-purpose flour dough.

But this does not mean that the pizza dough gets ruined in texture or flavor if you use bread flour to make pizza dough. Bread flour differs very slightly from regular flour and it proofs exactly like it would if you had used regular all-purpose flour to make the pizza dough.

Yeast breaks down the sugar present in the bread flour the same way it does in all-purpose flour so there are no differences in the methods of using yeast. The entire process of kneading, proofing, and shaping the crust remains the same if you use bread flour instead of regular flour.

How to Make Pizza Dough With Bread Flour?

The process of making pizza dough with bread flour is detailed in the passages below. The process is broken down into sections so that you can follow them better and not mess up any process.

Proofing the Yeast

Before starting to work with the flour, it is very wise to proof the yeast. Oftentimes, the yeast becomes inactive and even completely dormant because of a long time or other factors. So you should wake up the yeast to get it ready to be used in the flour mixture.

Heat 1 cup of water to 40 C or 104 F. Take the water in a bowl or jar. Add one teaspoon of dry yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar to the water and stir gently until the sugar dissolves. Cover the bowl or jar and leave it aside for 10-12 minutes. The yeast is active and ready to go if bubbles are forming on the yeast mixture.

The bubbles are carbon dioxide gas that is a product of the yeast breaking down the sugar molecules into ethanol. Do not worry about the alcohol as it will evaporate when you cook the bread. Proofing is not compulsory, but I always prefer doing it to remain safe.

Measuring the Ingredients

Carefully measure out the ingredients at this stage. The best measurement is using a 1:2 of water to flour ratio. You can add more flour as you go. For 1 cup of water, here, we will use two cups of bread flour. You can also add a pinch of salt and some olive oil or butter to enhance the taste and make the texture smoother.

Mixing the Ingredients

Use a spatula or a wooden spoon to slowly incorporate all the bread flour with the water and yeast mixture.

Use your hand as the dough starts to get too sticky and clings to the spatula too much. Use your fingers to incorporate all the bread flour with the yeast mixture until no flour remains in the bowl.

Kneading the Dough

The next step is kneading the dough. This is a laborious process but it yields the best result if you knead the dough well with your hands. Lightly spread bread flour all over the countertop or a clean hard surface where you can work the dough. This will keep the dough from sticking to the surface.

You can also use a bit of water on your hand if the dough sticks to your fingers too much. Now you need to knead the dough continuously until it turns into a smooth ball.

The best kneading technique is using one hand to press down on the dough, pull it up, fold it on the dough, rotate the dough, and press down again to repeat the cycle. Keep repeating this process until the dough stops being sticky and starts to get smooth.

Resting the Dough

After you are done kneading the dough, you need to let it rest so that the yeast can work its magic and proof the dough. Take a large bowl and coat the bottom of the bowl with olive oil.

Place the dough in the bowl and rub a little olive oil on top of the dough as well. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the surface when it expands. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or a plate and leave it in a dark place for an hour or until the dough doubles.

Forming the Crust of the Pizza

The dough is ready to be worked with when you see that it has doubled in volume. Press down on the dough to release all the gas that builds up on the inside of the dough. I like to proof it a second time but you can skip it if you are in a hurry. Press it with a hand and a rolling pin to form the crust.

Topping and Baking the Pizza

After you have finished shaping the pizza crust, top it with tomato sauce, cheese, and your favorite toppings, and bake it in the oven to prepare a delicious pie made with bread flour.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the Difference Between Bread Flour and All-Purpose Flour for Pizza Dough? 

The difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour lies in the protein content of these flour. All-purpose flour has less protein and bread flour has more protein. This means that bread flour forms more gluten chains in the bread to give it a more chewy texture. I prefer the chewy texture more.

Will Bread Flour Make My Pizza Dough Tough?

No, bread flour will not make your pizza dough tough. Pizza dough will be dough if you knead excessively or if the yeast fails to properly raise your pizza dough.

Does Bread Flour Affect the Taste of My Pizza?

Yes, bread flour will affect the taste of your pizza because dough made from bread flour will have a more chewy texture to it.

What Is the Best Type of Flour for Pizza Dough?

All-purpose flour is the best type of flour for pizza dough but you can also use bread flour to make it.