FAMOUS CALIFORNIA PIZZA DOUGH

Famous California Pizza Dough image

One product of my online interview with Wolfgang Puck was being given his pizza dough recipe to publish. I don't think this recipe is any kind of secret, and I'm sure it's been published many times, but I had never personally tried it, so I decided to do this recipe check out this iconic dough for myself.

Provided by Chef John

Time 1h35m

Yield 16

Number Of Ingredients 7

Ingredients

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup Water, municipal
1 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, or more as needed
¼ cup cornmeal, or as needed

Steps:

Combine yeast, honey, and 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl with a whisk. Let stand to dissolve, about 10 minutes.
Add salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, remaining 3/4 cup warm water, and 1 cup flour to the mixture and stir until a batter forms. Add another 1 cup flour; stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup more flour and combine.
Turn dough out onto a surface dusted with 1/4 cup flour. Knead until a smooth, fairly firm, slightly sticky dough is achieved, adding more flour as needed.
Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board and pat down with your hand. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Stretch and fold each piece down and under, tucking as you go, to form pizza dough rounds.
Cover with a towel and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 20 to 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Dust a baking sheet with cornmeal.
Transfer dough rounds to a lightly floured board and press each piece out to desired thickness, starting in the center, until 8 to 10 inches wide. Form a crust shape around the outer edges with your fingertips.
Transfer one round of pizza dough to the prepared baking sheet and brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Top with any sauce and toppings you like.
Bake in the lower rack of the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Move to the center of the oven and continue to bake until golden, about 10 minutes more. Repeat to bake remaining pizzas.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 126.8 calories, Carbohydrate 18.7 g, Fat 4.5 g, Fiber 0.8 g, Protein 2.5 g, SaturatedFat 0.6 g, Sodium 121.3 mg, Sugar 0.5 g