How to Mix Pizza Dough

How to Mix Pizza Dough

Do you want to learn how to mix pizza dough?

Pizza dough is a staple in most households, but it can be intimidating to make. After all, flour, water, yeast, and salt, and no one wants to mess it up.

But the truth is that pizza dough is pretty easy to mix up, especially with help from a stand mixer. With the right tools and a little know-how, you’ll be able to make your dough in no time.

So let’s get started!

What is Pizza Dough Mixing?

Flour and water are mixed in a procedure called “dough mixing,” which continues until gluten is created.

This occurs due to more significant contact between the flour’s dispersed gluten-forming proteins and the hydrated form of those proteins.

It is pretty different from the process of mixing batter because of the differences in their particular formulas – precisely, the balance between dry and liquid ingredients.

What are the Mixing Methods for Pizza Dough?

Mixing pizza dough has three methods to choose from:

Mix pizza dough by hand

Mix pizza dough using hand-mixer

Mix pizza dough using a stand mixer.

It’s all up to you which one is easier and more convenient to do.

Let’s check them out one by one.

How to Mix Pizza Dough By Hand

If we believe in our human strength, mixing pizza dough by hand might be the perfect method. 

Steps to Mixing Dough by Hand

• Add all ingredients to a large bowl.
• Start mixing with your hand, breaking any lumps until all ingredients are combined into a large dough ball.
• Place the dough ball on a surface dusted with flour and turn it over. 
• If the dough is particularly sticky at this point, sprinkle some flour over the top of it.
• Begin to mix the dough. The best way to knead dough is to press and roll it across the countertop with the heel of your hand. Although there are many other ways to knead the dough, this is the method that is recommended. 
• Then, with the other hand, bring it back to the beginning while simultaneously folding it over on top of itself. 
• Carry on this for three to five minutes or until the dough is smooth and tacky.

How to Know if the Pizza Dough is Ready After Mixing it by Hand?

A dough that has been adequately worked on won’t be sticky, but it will have the velvety smoothness of smooth velvet, and it won’t be able to be stretched very far at all.

There’s also a test technique called the “window pane test,” in which a small portion of dough is stretched between the fingers of one hand until it becomes nearly see-through. 

How to Mix Pizza Dough With a Mixer

The second mixing method to try is using a hand mixer.

A hand mixer is one of the essential tools a baker uses when making cupcakes, cakes, and other baking goods. It might be new for some of us to hear that it could also be used for mixing pizza dough.

Yes, it is possible, but it is also not easy since you must simultaneously hold the hand mixer and the bowl.

Also, remember that only a hand mixer with a dough hook is the one that can be used for mixing dough.

Dough hooks have a C or S shape.

Here are the steps for mixing pizza dough with a hand mixer:

• To get started with the mixing process, the first thing you need to do is attach the dough hooks to the hand mixer.
• The next step is mixing the liquid ingredients with the flour and other dry ingredients. At this point, you should use a preset that has a slow pace.
• You could add more liquid if needed. Give the dough time to come together until it is the consistency you want.
• Then proceed with the mixing process while using a quicker speed setting. The entire procedure should take no less than eight minutes, but the precise length of time will be determined by the amount of flour and liquid used.
• Once the dough is smooth, soft, and elastic, you can stop working with it. You can then shape the dough into a ball with your hands by bringing it all together into a ball.

To check if the dough is smooth and flexible – pull on it; if it falls apart, this indicates that the gluten has not been correctly activated.

It requires additional mixing to reach the point where it can be stretched apart without breaking.

How to Mix Pizza Dough With a Stand Mixer

The third method of mixing pizza dough is using a stand mixer. This might be easier than the two methods mentioned above.

• To begin, we can combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of the mixer. Pour the water and yeast mixture and olive oil on top of the flour that already has salt.
• Turn the mixer to a speed in the middle range and continue mixing until all ingredients are blended. It shouldn’t take more than thirty to sixty seconds at the most.
• Reduce the mixing speed of the stand mixer and set the timer for about three minutes. After that, stop the mixer and examine the dough to see if it has reached the desired consistency. Keeping it from sticking to the walls shouldn’t be too difficult. Again, you would want it to have the texture of soft putty.
• Keep the dough in the bowl of the mixer until it rests. Ensure the lid is on to prevent the dough from drying out. After the dough has had time to rest, turn it onto a work surface lightly dusted with flour and knead it by hand. If your dough is the proper consistency, there is no need even to flour the working surface.

When using a stand mixer, it is easy to knead the dough for an excessively long time. If this occurs, the dough will have a firm texture, and it will not be easy to stretch it into bases for pizzas.

How Long Should You Mix Pizza Dough?

The amount of time that should be spent mixing pizza dough differs depending on the approach taken.

Compared to other procedures, mixing by hand can take up to roughly ten minutes, while different processes don’t require as much time. With a hand mixer or a stand mixer, you should be able to combine all ingredients and form a smooth dough ball in 7 to 8 minutes.

Is it Better to Make Pizza Dough By Hand or By Mixer?

Modern technology has provided us with various possibilities for making pizza dough.

Of course, we can use the more traditional by-hand method, which requires no specialized equipment. The only requirement is a flat area to work on.

Also, mixing pizza dough by hand has the disadvantage of making our hands and wrist tired, and the method is time-consuming.

How about using a mixer?

The mixer could change the final look of the pizza. And mixers could over-knead the dough if we are not being attentive to what we are doing.

Even though both mixers and hand mixers do an excellent job generating the gluten in the dough, neither one precisely duplicates the motion of hand mixing.

For this reason, when using a stand mixer is always recommended that at the end, you should knead the dough by hand for 1 to 2 minutes.

Is a Dough Hook as Good as Kneading?

When it comes to kneading dough, there are no rules.

The process of kneading the dough by hand is relatively simple, and it’s also a lot of fun. The dough can be pushed away from our palms, folded into our hands, and pressed down again.

Folding, pressing, and rotating the dough repeatedly results in a smooth, gluten-developed dough.

In contrast, using a dough hook is speedier and fully hands-free, making it ideal for those who are short on time or don’t want to get their hands into the dough.

How Sticky Should Pizza Dough Be?

The liquid components are responsible for the stickiness of the dough. The stickiness will depend on the hydration percentage used.

Our recommended hydration percentage is 65%.

That will give you a starting point that you can work with. Depending on your results, you can add more or add less water by changing the hydration percentage. Until you get the desired results.

The pizza dough requires sturdy enough to keep itself together, but you do not want it to be so sticky that it attaches to everything else in the area.

How Do You Tell Pizza Dough is Kneaded Enough?

After being kneaded for some time, your dough should become entirely smooth. This is one of the indications that it is ready to be used.

Here’s how it should look before and after.

Move the slider left and right to see the difference.

Poking holes in the dough are yet another straightforward method for determining whether or not it has been kneaded adequately.

If the hole made by your finger springs back to its original shape fast, this is a strong indication that the dough is ready to be used.

What Can I Use Instead of a Mixer to Mix Pizza Dough?

In addition to a hand mixer and a stand mixer, a food processor is also acceptable for mixing pizza dough.

This is because using a food processor is the quickest and easiest way to complete this step.

The fast motion of the blade of a food processor can make dough stretchy in a matter of minutes with very little additional work on the cook’s part.

We prefer mixing the pizza dough with a stand mixer and then kneading the dough by hand.

The Last Slice

As mentioned above, there are many methods to mix pizza dough. You need to pick which one suits you best, and with that, we can now enjoy making pizza to serve to our friends and family.

Also, after mixing and making the pizza dough based on what you want, you can now put it in your pizza oven.

Besides mixing dough, having the best pizza oven to bake the best pizza is also very important to make our pizza party possible! 

Recommended Mixers

Additional Resources on How to Mix Pizza Dough

Enjoy!

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