Types of Yeast: Which Is the Best Yeast for Pizza Dough?
If you’re planning to make a delicious homemade pizza from scratch, that’ll include making your own homemade pizza dough, but which yeast is best?
What Yeast Is, and Why Choosing the Right One Is Important
Yeast works with various bacteria to help pizza crust to rise. It also provides that flavor we love so much. Yeast also affects how the crust looks, as well as its tenderness and crispiness.
Active dry yeast is the dried, shelf-stable form of yeast. It needs to be placed in water before adding it to bread flour or all purpose flour. This yeast type tends to be the most convenient and easy to use and find.
Instant yeast, also called rapid rise, is also in dried form. However, it doesn’t need to be dissolved in water or “proofed” (unless the recipe you’re using calls for it); instead, simply mix instant yeast in with the other ingredients in your pizza dough recipe.
Sourdough starter can be made right at home. Just mix flour and water, and allow it to sit at room temperature, where the bacteria and yeast in the air can enter the mixture. You’ll need to wait for one or two weeks for your starter to be ready, being sure to discard a little and feed it more flour every few days.
Choosing the Right Yeast for Your Pizza Dough
No matter the form it’s in, any yeast can work well for making pizza dough. It all depends on how much time you want to spend making it, and what kind of flavor you want.
For example, sourdough starter will produce a much different-tasking crust than other yeast types. It’s also the most traditional of all the yeasts, which can provide that “old country” culinary experience you may be looking for.
Basic Pizza Dough Instructions
There are nearly endless pizza dough recipes, but almost all have the same basic similarities. Once you’ve soaked your dry yeast in water, mix all the ingredients in a stand mixer or by hand until it forms a dough ball.
Cover with plastic wrap to let the dough rise. Your dough will be ready for rolling when it’s doubled in size. After lightly flouring the surface of your counter, push down and roll out your dough into a circle.
When it’s ready, preheat your oven and place your dough into a pizza pan or on a pizza stone, add pizza sauce, toppings, and a splash of olive oil, and get ready for delicious homemade pizza!
Homemade Pizza’s Perfect Companion
Authentic home pizza experiences begin with Fontana Forni. Our top-quality pizza ovens combine old-world Italian craftsmanship and construction with modern technology for the highest convenience and refinement.
We invite you to browse our lines of indoor and outdoor pizza ovens at our website, where you’ll also find some of our favorite and delicious pizza dough recipes, laid out step by step just for you. We wish you buon appetito!
