Fresh-Milled Pizza Dough
A great 100% fresh-milled pizza dough uses 69% hydration, a 45-minute autolyse, and a 24-hour cold ferment to develop flavor and a stretchable, crisp-edged crust.
Key Takeaways
- Autolyse softens fresh-milled bran so the dough stretches without tearing.
- 69% hydration is the sweet spot for hand-stretching fresh-milled dough.
- Cold-ferment at least 24 hours — flavor develops dramatically by hour 18.
- Always preheat 45+ minutes; a hot steel or stone is non-negotiable.
About this recipe
A 24-hour cold-fermented 100% fresh-milled pizza dough with crisp edges, a tender chew, and a deep wheaty flavor.
Prep: 20 min
Bake: 8 min
Hydration: 69%
Ingredients
- Fresh-milled hard white wheat flour400 g
- Fresh-milled hard red wheat flour100 g
- Water (75°F)345 g
- Instant yeast2 g
- Olive oil15 g
- Fine sea salt12 g
Instructions
- 1
Mill 500 g of berries (80% hard white / 20% hard red). Cool to room temperature.
- 2
Mix flour and water. Autolyse 45 minutes.
- 3
Add yeast, salt, and oil. Pinch and fold until smooth (about 4 minutes).
- 4
Bulk ferment 90 minutes at 76°F with two sets of stretch-and-folds in the first hour.
- 5
Divide into three 280 g balls. Place in oiled containers.
- 6
Cold ferment 24–48 hours at 38°F.
- 7
Pull dough out 90 minutes before baking. Preheat oven and steel/stone at 550°F for at least 45 minutes.
- 8
Stretch (do not roll) each ball to 11–12 inches. Top lightly.
- 9
Bake 6–8 minutes until the crust is blistered and charred in spots.
new to fresh-milled flour? start here — hydration, gluten development, and grain choice tips that make this recipe work.
Related Content
Recommended Grains
Related Techniques
How to Autolyse Fresh Milled Flour
Combine flour and water and let it rest before adding yeast and salt. Bran softens, gluten develops passively, and the final dough is dramatically easier to handle.
How to Stretch and Fold Dough
Every 30 minutes during bulk ferment, lift one side of the dough, stretch up, and fold over the top. Rotate 90° and repeat.
Related Troubleshooting
Why is my fresh milled dough too sticky?
Fresh milled dough sticks to hands, bench, and bannetons and never feels manageable.
Why is my crust too pale?
A loaf that finishes baking with a soft, blond crust instead of a deep golden or mahogany color.
How much water do I add to fresh milled flour?
Bakers new to fresh milled flour struggle to translate commercial-flour hydration to whole-grain dough.
Related Comparisons
Autolyse vs No Autolyse for Fresh-Milled Flour
Does autolyse actually matter for fresh-milled flour? Side-by-side on hydration, gluten, and final crumb.
Fresh-Milled Flour vs Bread Flour
How fresh-milled hard wheat stacks up against commercial bread flour for loaves, sourdough, and pizza.
Related Conversions
Bread Flour to Fresh Milled Flour
Hard red wheat has similar protein to bread flour. The bran and germ slow fermentation slightly — extend bulk by 15–30 minutes.
Bread Flour to Hard White Wheat (Fresh-Milled)
Swap 1:1 by weight and add 5–8% more water. A 20–40 minute autolyse helps; sifting 10–15% of the coarsest bran makes the crumb nearly indistinguishable from a bread-flour loaf. Fermentation runs ~10–20% faster than bread flour.
All-Purpose Flour to Hard White Wheat (Fresh-Milled)
Swap 1:1 by weight (not volume) and add 5–8% more water. A 20–40 minute autolyse, or sifting to remove ~10–15% of the coarsest bran, brings the texture very close to AP. Fermentation runs roughly 10–20% faster than the original AP recipe.