Thin Crust Pizza Dough
Key Takeaways
- Hydration: 68% — high enough for an airy crust, low enough to handle.
- Storage: Refrigerate dough balls up to 72 hours; freeze for up to 1 month.
- Substitutions: 25% bread flour can be subbed in for a chewier crust if you prefer.
About this recipe
Baking with freshly milled hard white wheat flour transforms an everyday recipe into something extraordinary. Within minutes of milling, whole-grain flour is bursting with natural oils, sweet wheaty aroma, and the full nutritional profile of the bran, germ, and endosperm. Commercial flour is stripped and stabilized for months of shelf life — fresh milling skips all of that, giving you flavor and nutrition the moment you bake. Crisp on the bottom, chewy at the edges, and powerful enough to support generous toppings without becoming soggy — that's the goal of a great thin-crust pizza dough. Fresh-milled hard white wheat gives this dough a subtle nuttiness without the heaviness people associate with whole wheat. A cold overnight ferment unlocks the flavor and improves both texture and digestibility. This recipe makes two 12-inch pizzas. Plan ahead: the dough develops its best flavor with a 24–48 hour cold ferment, but you can also bake it the same day after a 90-minute bulk rise. For Neapolitan-style results, bake on a preheated steel or stone at the highest temperature your oven allows.
Prep: 20 min
Bake: 12 min
Hydration: 68%
Ingredients
- Fresh-milled hard white wheat flour500 g
- Cool water (65°F)340 g
- Instant yeast3 g
- Fine sea salt12 g
- Olive oil15 g
Instructions
- 1
Mill the wheat berries and let cool. Whisk flour and yeast in a large bowl.
- 2
Add water and mix until shaggy. Cover and autolyse 30 minutes.
- 3
Sprinkle salt over the dough, add olive oil, and mix until cohesive.
- 4
Perform 3 sets of stretch-and-folds spaced 30 minutes apart.
- 5
Cover and bulk ferment 90 minutes at room temperature.
- 6
Divide into two 425 g pieces and shape into tight balls.
- 7
Place each ball in a lightly oiled container, cover, and refrigerate 24–48 hours.
- 8
Two hours before baking, remove dough to come to room temperature.
- 9
Preheat oven with a baking steel or stone to 550°F (or as hot as your oven allows) for 60 minutes.
- 10
Stretch each ball gently into a 12-inch round, leaving a slightly thicker rim.
- 11
Top sparingly, slide onto the steel, and bake 6–9 minutes until the crust is blistered and the cheese bubbles.
fresh flour baking guide for beginners — hydration, gluten development, and grain choice tips that make this recipe work.
Learn about this grain: Hard White Wheat guide — flavor, milling notes, baking tips, and four in-depth guides on hydration, storage, and common mistakes. Or browse more Hard White Wheat recipes.