Make Ahead Pizza Dough also known a Slow Ferment Pizza Dough

Loved the crisp bottom crust uncommon in a home oven!

Every once in a blue moon I will click around to several blogs, one being Orangette.  I saw this Pizza dough, had everything on hand, so gave it a try.  Easy to stir up, very little mess, and easy to handle dough.  So far a winner.  It is great to keep in the refrigerator 5 days or so (actually 6 days) before using and I like that too.  I love to mix up things in advance!

So when Friday rolled around I called my husband and told him not to stop for Pizza as he often does on Friday nights as I had it covered!  Plus my Pizza's are always DELUXE!

This pizza was topped with sauce, pepperoni, fresh ground chuck, mushrooms, black olives, Parmesan cheese, and Mozzarella. YUM.

Ingredients for Slow Ferment Pizza Dough:

2 C. bread flour
2 C. whole wheat flour
2 t. kosher salt
2/3 t. instant yeast
1/2 t. sugar
1 3/4 C. water

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir together until there are NO dry bits.  Tightly cover and store in the refrigerator.  The next day pull it out and knead for about a minute until it is smooth and elastic.  Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days untill you want to make PIZZA!

About 2 hours before you will be ready to make the pizzas pull the dough out of the refrigerator.  Use a spatula and remove the dough to a lightly floured board and divide it in half making 2 smooth balls of dough.  Cover and leave 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the dough is easily stretched.

45 minutes before baking the pizzas select either option one:  for metal baking sheets place them about 6" from the broiler.  Or option two place pizza stones or baking stones on the lowest oven racks.  Heat the oven to it's hottest setting.  NOTE:  I used pizza stones on the lowest 2 racks and set my gas range to 500 degrees F.

Next tear 2 nice sized sheets of parchment paper.  Place on a cutting board or cabinet or the back of a baking sheet or if you are lucky a pizza peel!  Stretch one portion of dough to 12" or so.  I just pressed it out with my fingers and the heels of my palms.  The dough worked very easily.  Then repeat on the second parchment with the second dough. 

Add the topping you have selected and you are ready to bake.  Open the oven, slide out the lowest rack and slide the pizza ON THE PARCHMENT onto the hot stone from off the peel or baking sheet or whatever you have used.  Pull out the next lowest rack and repeat sliding your pizza onto the second hot stone.  Close the oven and bake 8-10 minutes.  Reverse the pizza stones from their pack positions and bake 5 or more minutes until the desired bubbly cheesy pizza happens you like.

YUM,

When you remove the pizzas let the sit a few minutes before serving.  Yield 2, 12" pizzas.  These were do again pizzas and we will do them again!!

NOTES;  These bake beautifully on the parchment and slide right off.  The pizza roller cutter did not even tear.  I did not get a speck of anything on the 2 pizza stones and did not even have to wash them.  WIN WIN!  The second pizza we just cooled and slid on the parchment onto a plastic bag to freeze for another day.  Another Win!