Roberta's Pizza Dough Recipe

Hands holding a smooth ball of Robertas pizza dough.

5 from 7 votes

A step-by-step guide to making Roberta's acclaimed pizza dough recipe in Brooklyn, from mixing and kneading to stretching and baking a classic Margherita-style pizza.

Prep Time30

Cook Time10

Resting + Chilling1 15

Total Time1 55

Servings: (12-inch) pizzas

Calories: 864kcal

Author: Karishma Pradhan

Equipment

Proofing Containers
Baking Steel or Pizza Stone
Pizza Peel

Ingredients

For the dough:

153 grams 00 flour preferably Antimo Caputo
153 grams all-purpose flour preferably King Arthur
8 grams Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt if measuring by volume and using any other brand of kosher salt or sea salt, use 1 ½ teaspoons salt*
½ teaspoon instant yeast or active dry yeast | see notes
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil plus more for greasing
202 grams lukewarm tap water

For baking:

Semolina Flour and 00 Flour for dusting
6 tablespoons pizza sauce such as my San Marzano Pizza Sauce
6 ounces fresh mozzarella torn into bite-sized pieces
Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Basil leaves for topping

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the dough:

Make the dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine 153 grams 00 flour, 153 grams all-purpose flour, 8 grams Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, and ½ teaspoon instant yeast.
Form a well in the center of the flour, and pour in 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil and 202 grams lukewarm tap water. Using your hands, or a wooden spoon, Slowly begin incorporating the wet ingredients into the flour mixture.
Mix: Knead the dough for about 3 minutes, just until a shaggy, sticky mass forms. At this point, the dough does not need to be smooth by any means, but it should not have any dry spots.
Autolyse: Wipe the bowl clean, shape the dough into a large ball, and place it back into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
Note: This is the autolyse period, which helps hydrate the dough and kickstart gluten development.
Knead: On a well-floured surface, knead the rested dough for 3 - 5 minutes until smooth and tacky (a little bit of stickiness is okay).
TIP: The dough will be quite sticky as you first begin kneading, but over time it should smooth out. You may need a bit more or less flour depending on the humidity of your kitchen.
Divide and Shape: Divide the dough into two equal pieces using a knife or bench scraper.
Working with one ball at a time, gather the corners of the dough towards the center. Once you've gathered the edges and formed a rough spherical shape, pinch the center of the dough where all the gathered edges meet. This will seal the dough and create a "seam", kind of like a ball of mozzarella.
Place the dough on your work surface with the seam side facing down. Gently cup the dough with both hands, lightly pressing it against the work surface as you rotate it in a circular motion.
This motion helps create a smooth, round shape. As you continue to rotate and cup the dough, you'll notice it tightening and becoming smoother. If you have any rough edges or seams, you can gently tuck them under the dough ball to smooth them out.
Repeat with the remaining dough ball.
Chill and Proof: Grease a proofing container with a little olive oil, add the dough balls, and cover. Transfer to the fridge to proof for 24 - 48 hours.
TIP: Make sure to grease your lid (or plastic wrap) with oil to prevent sticking.

For baking (classic Margherita pizza):

Prep Oven: Place your baking tool of choice (stone or steel) over a rack set on the bottom-third of the oven. Place the top rack 5 - 6 inches from the broiler. Preheat your oven to its highest temperature (likely somewhere between 500℉/260℃ and 550℉/288℃) for at least 45 minutes.
Thaw: Remove the dough balls from the fridge and thaw to room temperature, about 45 minutes.
Flour: In a shallow bowl, combine about ½ cup semolina flour and ½ cup 00 flour. Remove one dough ball from the container and dip it in the flour mixture. Transfer the dough to a wooden cutting board or pizza peel.
Stretch and Shape: Gently press along the outer edge of the dough to create a crust rim, about ⅔-inch from the border.
Position your knuckles along the inner edge of the dough and gently stretch it in a circular motion until it reaches the desired size.
TIP: Avoid thinning out the outer edges if you want to a traditional raised crust. Make sure to keep checking if the pizza is sticking, adding additional flour as needed.
Top: Using a small spoon or ladle, spread 2 - 3 tablespoons pizza sauce in a circular motion. Arrange with 3 ounces mozzarella and add a drizzle of olive oil.
Bake: To launch the pizza, hold the peel parallel to your stone/steel and gently slide the pizza onto it. Bake for 3 - 4 minutes, or until the bottom is nicely browned.
Using the pizza peel, carefully transfer the pizza to the top rack and broil on 'HI' for 1 - 2 minutes until nicely browned on top.
Remove from the oven, top with fresh basil, slice, and serve.
Repeat stretching, topping, and baking process with the remaining dough ball (using the remaining half of the toppings). And make sure to switch the oven setting from 'Broil' back to 'Bake' before baking.

Video

Notes

*Salt: The original recipe in Roberta's cookbook calls for 2 scant teaspoons sea salt. I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt (DCKS) in my cooking, and it's less salty and dense than other salts by volume. If using DCKS, measure 1 tablespoon. If using any other type of kosher salt or sea salt, measure half the amount, or 1 ½ teaspoons salt.

Yeast: I prefer instant yeast because it doesn't require any sort of activation prior to adding, but you can substitute active dry yeast in a 1:1 ratio. Just make sure to mix the yeast with the liquids (not the dry ingredients) to ensure it's properly activated.

No Pizza Peel? Instead, build your pizza on parchment paper atop a large baking sheet set upside down. Then, gently slide the parchment paper onto your stone or steel. With this method, I do not recommend broiling the pizza because the parchment can catch on fire.

Tip - Don't Overload the Pizza: This type of dough cannot handle tons of sauce or toppings. You really only need 2 - 3 tablespoons of sauce for this kind of pie. If you overload the pizza, it can make it impossible to slide off the peel or even tear the pie.

Storage: Leftover dough can be stored in an airtight container for up to 48 hours; after that time, it can start to "over-ferment" so it may lose some structure.

Nutrition