You have to try this Homemade Pizza Dough with Beer! It's so easy, and makes the best pizza.
You knew it was only a matter of time before I posted a pizza dough recipe, right? Today, I'm sharing a delicious, homemade pizza dough with beer that my in-laws bake in their outdoor brick oven.
Don't worry, a regular oven works too. (It has to, because that's all I have.)
My father-in-law working his brick oven
When we visit my in-laws in Connecticut, we really enjoy making pizza together. It's a family affair, with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law making the dough, all the kids and I joining in to shape the pizzas and add toppings, and my husband, brothers-in-law and father-in-law working the brick oven. (It's a guy thing, like grilling.)
The pictures I'm sharing are from November, when we visited for Thanksgiving. We basically had a feast every day.
My mother-in-law preparing the pizza pans in her basement kitchen
This dough requires kneading, which takes five minutes in my stand mixer, but probably a few minutes longer by hand. Then the dough needs to rise, covered, until it doubles, which takes an hour. You can proceed to make the pizza then or let the dough have a second rise, if you wish.
I've made the dough with all white flour and with a combination of white and whole wheat. The all-white version is easier to work with, but I love the taste of the wheat crust, which seems to have a more pronounced beer flavor.
They're both excellent, though, and you can make your pizza as thick or thin as you wish. (I've included some weight measurements in the recipe as a guide.)
My husband (Papa C!) getting in on the brick oven action
Pizza from scratch is so much better (and cheaper!) than anything I can order for delivery. (Don't even get me started on how every local restaurant and all the chains put oregano, and probably sugar, in their sauce.)
Here's the homemade marinara sauce I make and try to keep on hand in the freezer. Speaking of that, if you double the dough recipe, you can bake what you need and wrap up the rest in 10-14 ounce portions to freeze and thaw as you need them.
And yes, I do have enough dough for five large pizzas sitting in my freezer right now. It's the Italian thing to do.
(Recipe Source: Inspired by a recipe from King Arthur Flour)
Homemade Pizza Dough with Beer
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pounds flour (use all-purpose flour or equal parts white and white whole wheat flour)
- 1 ⅛ teaspoon instant yeast
- ¾ teaspoon sugar
- 1 ¼ cups warm water
- 1 ½ ounces beer
- ⅛ cup cooking oil
- 1 ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Weigh your flour if you have a kitchen scale. Add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl. If using a KitchenAid stand mixer, use the dough hook and mix for a minute on the lowest speed. Increase the speed to two, and knead for five minutes, or until the dough becomes a smooth ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- If kneading by hand, stir the ingredients with a spoon and place the dough on a floured work surface. To knead, fold the dough in half toward you, then push the dough away from you while pressing down with the heels of your hands. Rotate the dough a few degrees, then repeat the folding and pushing. Continue doing this until the dough forms a smooth ball. It could take up to 10 minutes. (If your dough still feels sticky after a while, add a bit more flour. If your dough feels too dry, add a bit more warm water.)
- Place the ball of dough in a large, greased bowl and cover it with a towel. Let it rise for 1-2 hours, until it has doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough and transfer it to a floured work surface. You will have about 2 pounds of dough. Use a knife or dough cutter to cut the dough in half for two half sheet pans, or divide the dough into three equal parts for 3, 12-inch round pizzas. (If you have a kitchen scale, you might want to weigh the dough segments to see if they're even.) Use 10-12 ounces of dough for a 12-inch round pan, and 14-16 ounces for a rectangular sheet pan. (If you want a deep-dish round pizza as pictured, use a pound of dough for the 12-inch pan.) You can cover the balls of dough for a second rise of 1 or two hours, if you wish, or proceed to make the pizza. A second rise helps to make the dough more tender.
- When the dough is done rising, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and lightly grease your pizza pans (three rounds or two sheet pans). If using a stone, don't grease it. Put it in the oven while it preheats.
- Shape the dough to fit your pan or stone. It helps to grasp the dough by the edges, hold it up, and let it stretch out. Rotate the dough a bit and continue, pressing the dough with your fingers in the thick spots to thin it out. (If using half whole wheat flour, you might find it easier to roll the dough into shape.) If using a stone, you can put your pizza on parchment paper until it's time to bake it, then transfer the pizza and paper onto the stone to bake.
- Bake the dough for 5 minutes before adding any toppings. Then add your sauce, toppings and cheese and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Since ovens vary, and the thickness of your pizza is a factor, keep an eye on your pizza to make sure it doesn't burn. (If you prefer that your cheese is not well done, you can add half of your cheese when you add the other toppings, bake the pizza for five minutes, then add the rest of the cheese before continuing to bake.)
- Let the pizza rest for a few minutes before slicing. Store leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer. Freeze any leftover dough in portions for later use. (See notes.)
judith judge
can you tell me how many cups of flour is 1 1/4 lb
Mamma C
Hi Judith - It's five cups.
Al Vilches
Giving it five stars because it tasted so good!!! BUT, the dough, as written, was a completely unworkable, sloppy mess unless I screwed something up along the way. I had to add over 10 Tbs of flour just to make it kind of workable. Perhaps I converted something incorrectly? The temperature was 72F and the relative humidity was 64%. Since I don't have a stand mixer, I used our bread maker to mix and knead the dough because I didn't have the patience to do it by spoon. Here are the measurements that I used:
Water: 296g (that's less than the metric conversion when I click on that button above)
Flour: 567g (initially. However, I added a bunch later (I lost count after 10 heaping Tbs) as the dough was sticking to the non-stick surfaces of the breadmaker and my fingers)
Beer: 3 Tbs
Oil: 2 Tbs
After rising one hour, I punched it down and then let it rise for a second hour. I took 1/3 of the dough and made a delicious 1/2 sausage and 1/2 pepperoni 12" pizza. The other 2/3 made a delicious 12" deep dish sausage pizza. While I did skip the par-bake step, the pizzas were still excellent. My wife, who is a bit tired of my experimentations with pizza crusts, said that she'd take "just a tiny taste" but then proceeded to devour the entire deep dish slice and the thin piece! In other words, this turned out amazing!!!
Like I said, it's delicious recipe! I'm just trying to figure out where I went wrong that I had to add so much more flour. Thoughts?
Mamma C
Hi Al - The measurements are correct, but any time you are working with dough, it's necessary to add more flour if the dough is too sticky. This can change from house to house and season to season.
Hillary
Do you freeze your dough after it’s risen or before? I love this recipe, my husband says it’s the best pizza he’s ever had. Thanks for sharing
Mamma C
Hi Hillary - We freeze it after it's risen. I'm so glad you and your husband love this recipe! We do too.
Mamma C
To Paula T. who sent me a message through my contact form: I bake the pizza on the center rack of my oven. I'm glad you found my site, and I hope you enjoy the recipes! (I tried to email you back using the address you provided on the contact form, but it came back as undeliverable, so maybe there was a typo in your email address.)
Sachinder Paruth
I love making my own pizza dough. And yes your recipe is wonderful.
I also used sour dough starter and the aroma is just fantastic when using sour dough starter.
The texture, bite and pull is also wonderful.
Mamma C
I've never worked with sour dough starter but can just imagine the wonderful aroma. Thanks, Sachinder!
Mayuri Patel
The pizza looks awesome. Never tried beer pizza. Love the brick oven.
Mamma C
Thanks, Mayuri. It's the best I've ever tried! And, the brick oven is a fun treat when we visit my in-laws. 🙂
Roz @ La Bella Vita Cucina
This pizza looks incredible! I am pea-green with envy that your in-laws have a brick oven and can bake a pizza the "REAL" way! The flavor and texture must be just like I had in NYC at a brick oven pizzeria. I'll never forget it! I pinned your recipe to my "Deliciously Italian" group board on Pinterest so 1000's of peeps can see it! I can't wait to try your homemade pizza dough recipe and your marinara sauce that you included! YUM!
Roz
Mamma C
Thanks so much, Roz. I love your board! I hope you enjoy this pizza.
Denise | Sweet Peas & Saffron
I have officially added brick pizza oven to my 'if I win the lottery' list! This pizza dough sounds amazing, and I love that there's beer in it!
Mamma C
That's a great idea, Denise! It's funny how much I really enjoy beer in my food, because I've never liked drinking it.
Cheryl "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser
Nothing better than homemade pizza dough and outside oven! Great Combo but like you said an indoor high temp. home oven will work! Bravo-we love any type of pizza. Can not forget the great sauce and cheeses!!!
Mamma C
I agree, Cheryl, and find it's not difficult to make. Thanks!
Annie @ ciaochowbambina
Oh my! Have I told you yet that my hubby's nickname in college was Pizza Man? I bet you can guess why! He is going to be sooo excited when I share this post with him! I love your idea for having dough ready and waiting in the freezer! What an awesome time you guys must have visiting your in-laws. And that pizza? A beautiful thing!
Mamma C
I guess Pizza Man sounds better than Dough Boy, lol! We do have a great time visiting my in-laws, and I put on five pounds with every visit, between the homemade pizza, homemade liqueur, cheesecake, and we haven't even gotten to the homemade pasta yet... 🙂 Thanks, Annie!