Get the Midwest Pizza Dough Recipe
John Gutekanst wrote an article on Traditional American Pizza which he outlines some variations of American pizzas that you may, or may not, not be familiar with. The Midwest style pizza was included.
Here is a dough recipe which, to me best reflects the middle ground in middle America. I’ve left this recipe at 66% hydration. Strong enough to hold sauce, cheese and toppings and flavorful enough after proofing to enable a digestible crust. Mixing it with cold water (and using less yeast) followed by cold fermentation slows the yeast activity down, giving the starches in the flour time to convert to simple sugars releasing fantastic flavors. This recipe is designed to be used within 6 hours if using warmer water, and up to 3 days using the cold holding method.
- 25 pounds high gluten flour, (11.34 kg)
- 16.6 pounds water, (7.53 kg)
- 2 ounces dry yeast, (56 grams)
- 11 ounces salt, (11 grams)
- Hold one cup of the water in a smaller container and set aside.
- Using your proprietary mixer, add the flour and water and mix on high, then lower to medium for at least 12 minutes and mix on low for another 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and let the dough sit for 20 minutes for the gluten to expand as it absorbs the moisture. This is what is known as the autolyze method.
- Mix the yeast in with the cup of water until it dissolves.
- After 20 minutes, add the yeast water and salt to the dough and mix on medium, then low for another 10-15 minutes.
- Pull the dough from the mixer and set on a dough table to bulk ferment for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Cut the dough balls into 17–19-ounce dough balls for large pizzas, 8-10 ounces for small pizzas, 1.5 to 2 pounds for medium pan pies, and, 2-4 pounds for larger sheet pan pizzas.
