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–+ servings
A round, uncooked pizza dough made with a poolish starter sits on a metal pizza peel over a white surface, with some scattered cornmeal nearby. Another partially visible piece of perfect pizza dough is seen in the lower right corner.
Pizza dough that channels the spirit of a wood-fired Neapolitan pie—pillowy, crisp-edged, and just the right kind of chewy. With a poolish starter and a slow, cool fermentation, the flavor builds and deepens until your dough is practically singing with character.

Perfect Pizza Dough with Poolish Starter

Ingredients 

For the poolish starter

  • 200 g water room temperature (about 7/8 cup, or just under 1 cup)
  • 5 g honey (1 tsp)
  • 5 g active dry yeast (1 ½ tsp)
  • 200 g 00 flour also called pizza flour (1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon)

For the dough

  • 300 g water cool or room temp (1 ¼ cups)
  • 300 g bread flour (2 ½ cups)
  • 200 g 00 flour also called pizza flour (1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon)
  • 20 g salt (1 tablespoon + ½ teaspoon)

Instructions

Make the Poolish (Preferment)

  1. Start by waking up your yeast with a little love. In a medium bowl, whisk together 200 g water, 5 g honey, and 5 g active dry yeast until everything’s dissolved—almost frothy, like the surface of warm cider.
    A glass bowl filled with a bubbly, off-white liquid sits on a wooden surface. The bowl is placed on a digital scale partially visible beneath it.
  2. Stir in 200 g 00 flour until you’ve got a thick, sticky batter that clings to the spoon.
    A glass jar filled with a mixture of flour and water, showing a rough, bubbly dough or sourdough starter, sits on a wooden surface.
  3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a snug-fitting lid, and let it rest at room temp until it balloons up to triple its size—this usually takes 1 to 3 hours. You’re looking for something light and airy, with a sweet, tangy aroma that hints at fermentation magic.
    Tip: Pop it in the oven with just the light on—no heat—and it’ll speed things up.
    A glass jar with a lid containing a white, creamy substance sits on an oven rack, illuminated by the oven light. Condensation is visible on the inside of the jar and the oven walls.

Mix the final dough

  1. Once your poolish looks alive and bubbly, pour in 300 g water and stir it around until the mixture is loose and frothy, almost like a really thin pancake batter.
    A person stands behind a wooden cutting board, holding a jar filled with dough. Water is being poured into the jar from a plastic bag. The persons torso and arms are visible, but their face is not shown.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add 300 g bread flour, 200 g 00 flour, and 20 g salt. Pour the soupy poolish mixture right on top.
    A close-up view of bread dough being mixed in a stand mixer bowl. The dough appears sticky and partially combined, with some unmixed flour visible along the edges.
  3. Knead on medium speed for 6 to 8 minutes, until the dough transforms from shaggy to sleek. It should feel elastic and slightly tacky.
    If you're not sure if the dough is ready, touch the top of the dough with your finger. If your finger comes away clean, the gluten is developed and the dough is ready to be formed. If your finger sticks to the dough, knead on medium speed for another 1-2 minutes. Repeat until the gluten is developed.
    A stainless steel mixing bowl containing a smooth, risen dough, placed on a white marble surface.
  4. Transfer your dough to an unfloured countertop and divide into 2 large or 4 smaller portions, depending on your pizza vision to prep for the final dough forming.
    The dough will be a bit sticky at this point but that is what you want. Do not add flour or oil to the surface as you will be changing the hydration of the dough. We don't want to do that. As we start to form the dough in the next step, the outer surface will become more taut and less sticky because of the stretched gluten.
    Four round balls of raw dough are arranged in a square formation on a white, lightly marbled surface.

Walk the dog (not the actual dog)

  1. Choose a top side of the dough ball (and keep it the same all the way through). Then, using a plastic pastry dough scraper and your hand, position the scraper on one side of the dough and your hand on the other. Use the scraper and your hand to twist/rotate the dough across the countertop—think of your hand like a loose cage guiding the dough rather than grabbing it.
    A person with blue-painted nails uses a white plastic dough scraper to portion a ball of dough on a white surface.
  2. Pull it just a few inches—slowly and steadily. As you do, the friction between the dough and the surface tucks the underside under, creating surface tension on top. It should feel like you’re coaxing it, not yanking. Give the dough a quarter turn and pull again.
    Do this several times in a circular motion. You’ll feel it tighten up and dome slightly and become touchable without feeling sticky.
    A person with blue nail polish uses a white dough scraper to shape a ball of dough on a white surface.

Cold fermentation (highly recommended)

  1. Transfer the dough balls to a proofing box, add a small drizzle of olive oil to the top of each dough ball to prevent drying, and tuck it into the fridge.
    If you don't have a proofing box, you can place each dough ball on individual dinner plates, add a small drizzle of olive oil to the surface of each dough ball and then cover the plate with plastic wrap to seal it airtight.
    Let it chill for at least 24 hours—72 hours if you can swing it. The longer it rests, the deeper the flavor. You’ll notice subtle, nutty notes and a silky smoothness that only time can build.
    A white rectangular baking tray holds four round balls of dough, each drizzled with a small amount of oil, on a white surface.

Make ready

  1. Take the dough out 1 to 2 hours before baking so it can warm up and relax—cold dough is stiff and stubborn. More bubbles will begin to form (YAY!).
    Four portions of pizza dough are proofing in a white rectangular container, each with a slightly domed top and smooth surface. The container is placed on a white countertop.
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