Artisan No-Knead Pizza Crust

76 Reviews 4.6 out of 5 stars

This Roman-style pizza is reminiscent of the artisan wood-fired pies that are all the rage on the West Coast. The pizza is light but not flat; substantial but far from bready, with a light and pillowy crust that's equal parts chewy gluten and air. In short, it's pizza perfection. Our thanks to Julia Reed for this delightful recipe; we highly recommend you read her accompanying blog post, which offers a tremendous amount of detail around shaping and baking this very soft dough.

Prep
15 mins
Bake
4 to 8 mins
Total
1 day 30 mins
Yield
two 10" to 12" pizzas
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Artisan No-Knead Pizza Crust

Instructions

  1. Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Stir all of the ingredients together. Cover the rough, sticky dough and let it rise at room temperature for 24 hours. After this first rise, you may choose to refrigerate the dough for up to 6 days, which will help develop its flavor.

  2. With a rack in the center, preheat the oven to 500°F to 550°F with a baking steel or stone inside. Allow the oven to sit at temperature for 30 minutes before baking your pizza, in order for the steel or stone to fully preheat.

  3. Divide the dough in half. Shape each piece into a ball; see this recipe's blog post, The best pizza you'll ever make, for details on how best to do this. Place each ball seam-side down into a floured bowl.

  4. Cover the bowls and allow the dough to proof (rise) for 45 minutes to an hour, while your oven preheats.  

  5. Scoop the dough onto a well-floured work surface and dust the top with flour. Using your fingertips, gently depress the dough, being careful not to touch the outer edge of the crust; you want it to remain thick.  

  6. Lift up the pizza and use your knuckles to gently stretch the dough into a circle about 10" to 12" in diameter. Move it to a well-floured pizza peel or floured sheet of parchment. If you're using parchment, trim the excess around the dough to prevent it from burning.

  7. Lightly sauce the dough, then top with the cheese of your choice. Add the rest of your toppings.

  8. Turn on the top broiler in your preheated oven and transfer the pie to the steel or stone. (If you only have a bottom broiler, skip this step and simply bake the pizza in your oven without broiling; see “tips,” below.)

  9. Gently slide the pizza (or pizza and parchment) onto the steel or stone. Bake the pizza for approximately 6 minutes on the steel, 7 minutes on the stone, until bubbly and charred on the edges. Remove the pizza from the oven, and top it with freshly grated Parmesan, if desired.

  10. Repeat with the remaining dough and toppings.

Tips from our Bakers

  • Warning: DO NOT place your pizza under a broiler with less than 8" of space between it and the cooking surface (as is often found with bottom broilers.) This could cause a fire. Broiling instructions for this recipe are written for an oven equipped with a top broiler. If you have an oven where the broiler is on the bottom (usually in the bottom compartment of the oven) or on top in a smaller, separate compartment, make sure there's at least 8" between the broiler and the cooking surface. If there isn't, don't use the broiler. Your pizza will still be great without being broiled, though it may take a few more minutes to bake.

  • Join King Arthur baker Martin Philip and his family as they do a sourdough riff on this pizza. Watch Martin Bakes at Home - Sourdough Pizza now.

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