FASTEST Pizza Dough Recipe in 3 Hours! (Same Day Italian Pizza)

Fast Same-Day Pizza Dough

Ingredients — About 6 Pizzas

Dough

• 1 kg 00 or pizza flour, with at least 11 g protein per 100 g (11–13 g recommended)
• 700 ml cold tap water (70% hydration)
• 7 g dry yeast (about 1 sachet)
• 5 tsp salt

For shaping and topping

• Fine semolina, for the tray, work surface, and peel
• Peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, with salt to taste
• Fresh basil
• Grated Pecorino Romano
• Mozzarella, sliced and drained in a colander
• Salami, sautéed mushrooms, and crispy guanciale, as desired
• Butter, for sautéing mushrooms; extra-virgin olive oil can replace guanciale fat for flavor

Equipment

A dough mixer or stand mixer (hands also work), dough scraper, scale, thermometer if available, pizza tray or individual airtight containers, marble or timber work surface, pizza peel—Vincenzo prefers a wooden peel—and a very hot pizza oven. Scissors are suggested for cutting the finished pizza without crushing the rim.

Method

1. Mix the dough. Pour the cold water into the mixer bowl. Add about two handfuls of flour, then the salt and yeast. Mix to start activating the yeast. Add about half of the remaining flour, then gradually add the rest. Don’t rush this stage. Mix until the dough comes together and reaches 23–26°C (73–79°F); Vincenzo’s dough reaches 25°C. By hand, add the flour gradually and check the dough temperature with a thermometer if you have one. Without a thermometer, he suggests pressing the dough and looking for it to bounce back.
2. Prepare the containers. Lightly dust a pizza tray with fine semolina to help prevent sticking. For individual airtight plastic containers, use a small amount of olive oil and spread it around instead.
3. Portion and shape. Turn the dough onto a clean marble, timber, or other non-sticky work surface. Use a scraper and scale to divide it into balls of about 250–270 g. Fold the dough inward repeatedly, then close the bottom seam. Keep your hands clean to reduce sticking; scrape the work surface if it becomes sticky.
4. Proof at room temperature. Place the balls on the semolina-dusted tray or in the lightly oiled containers. Cover or store them at room temperature for at least 3 hours. The presenter says they can remain there for 4–7 hours as well. For dough made ahead, refrigerate it for up to a week and take it out 4 hours before making pizza.
5. Stretch the dough. Dust the dough ball with fine semolina and release it carefully from the tray. Press from the center toward the edges, leaving the rim unpressed to build a puffed crust. Stretch gently by hand, or let the dough stretch as you rotate it and gravity does the work. Keep fingers flat rather than poking down to avoid making holes. If a small hole appears, gently close it.
6. Top quickly. Transfer the base to a lightly semolina-dusted wooden peel. Add the salted crushed tomatoes, basil, and Pecorino, followed by salami, sautéed mushrooms, and guanciale if using. Add the drained mozzarella last, covering some of the other toppings so they are less likely to burn. Work promptly so the sauce does not soak through and make the base stick to the peel. For mushrooms, Vincenzo recommends sautéing them in butter rather than using them raw.
7. Bake. Heat the oven to 400°C; the pizza takes about 90 seconds. Bake for roughly 30 seconds, then rotate the pizza using the peel and continue in short turns of about 15 seconds. If needed, briefly return it to the oven to finish the edges, taking care not to burn the crust or let the base touch the oven stone. Vincenzo says 320–350°C is an alternative, but it will take longer.
8. Serve. Cut with scissors to preserve the airy rim. Look for a crisp, leopard-spotted crust and a fully cooked base.

Tips and Notes

• Choose flour by its protein content: Vincenzo advises against flour below 11 g protein per 100 g.
• This quick version uses 7 g yeast; he contrasts it with his usual 1 g for a 24-hour dough. He says the quick dough may feel heavier and may be less easy to digest than longer-fermented dough.
• A pizza tray is convenient, but individual airtight containers work too. A professional tray may not need semolina, though he uses it at home as extra insurance against sticking.
• The recipe is presented as making six pizzas; portion the dough to about 250–270 g each.

Presenter/channel: Vincenzo’s Plate. Referenced pizza maker: Franco Pepe, mentioned by Vincenzo in support of using a wooden peel.