Never fail pizza dough

There is something deeply satisfying about making your own dough and cooking it over charcoal. This is a simple, reliable pizza dough that gives you a light, airy base with just the right chew and a crisp finish in next to no time. It is the perfect fast bake recipe when you do not have the time to wait around for a long prove, so you can still get great pizza on the table without planning your whole day around it.

This recipe comes from our recent masterclass with Jay Porter and has quickly become a go-to for relaxed cooking with friends.

Ingredients

• 600g strong white pizza flour
• 380g water
• 8g instant yeast such as Fermipan
• 10g fine salt

Charlie Oven setup for pizza

Use good-quality lump charcoal, ideally Stag Charcoal. You want around three quarters of a football-sized pile, placed directly on the fire grates. Do not use briquettes.

Light the charcoal and allow it to build heat. There is no need to wait for it to burn down to embers.

Add your pizza stones as the oven heats up. Place two or three stones in the top half of the oven.

You are aiming for a cooking temperature of around 375°C to 400°C, or 700°F to 750°F. Keep the vents open for the duration of the bake so the fire stays lively.  It usually takes between 25 to 30 minutes to heat up.

Method

1. Add the water to a bowl, then stir in the yeast so it dissolves evenly. This helps the yeast spread through the dough and start working straight away. Fermipan works particularly well here, as it is made using Italian sourdough, which helps give a really good rise and a bit more depth of flavour.
2. Add the flour on top, then place the salt on the flour rather than directly into the water. Keeping the salt away from the yeast at the start helps the dough rise more consistently.
3. Mix everything together until there is no dry flour left. It will look rough at this stage.
4. Cover and rest the dough for 10 minutes. This short rest allows the flour to fully absorb the water, which makes the dough easier to handle and improves texture.
5. Turn the dough out and knead lightly for 2 to 3 minutes until smooth. You are building just enough structure so the dough can hold the air it creates as it rises.
6. Shape into a tight dough ball and place back into the bowl.
7. Cover and leave at room temperature for around 2 to 4 hours.  It's ok to leave it for less time if you don't have it.  Minimum rest time of an hour will work. The dough should become soft, airy and relaxed. The yeast is creating gas during this time, which gives you that light, open texture. 
8. Once risen, divide the dough into four equal portions.
9. Shape each portion into a tight ball and leave to rest for another 20 to 30 minutes. This final rest relaxes the dough so it stretches easily without springing back.
10. When ready, take one dough ball at a time and place onto a lightly floured surface.
11. Gently press and stretch into a pizza base, leaving a rim around the edge so you get that lovely rise on the crust.
12. Add your toppings, keeping them light so they cook in time with the dough.
13. Use a little fine semolina under the dough to stop it sticking to the peel, then slide onto the hot pizza stone.
14. Bake for around 3 minutes until the base is crisp, the edges have puffed up and you get light charring.

Why cook this in Charlie

Charlie gives you heat in two ways at once. You get direct heat coming up from the fire below and indirect heat building around the oven chamber. That combination is what creates proper lift in the dough while also cooking the toppings through.

The result is a crisp base, soft centre and those blistered edges that make a pizza feel properly cooked rather than just baked.

Because the heat is steady and controlled inside the oven chamber, you can cook multiple pizzas back to back without chasing the fire or turning them. Everyone gets to eat together, which is exactly how it should be.  Keep the airvents open throughout the baking time to keep the heat of the oven at its peak. 

Top tips for baking in the Charlie

• Leave a rim around the edge of the dough so you get a lovely rise on the crust.
• Use fine semolina under the dough to stop it sticking to the pizza peel.
• Go light on the toppings or they will not cook in time with the dough.
• Add the pizza stones while the oven is heating up.
• Place two or three stones in the top half of the oven.
• Load pizzas from top to bottom and unload from bottom to top.
• The oven is hottest nearest the flame.
• Allow around 3 minutes to bake with the door shut.
• Keep the vents open for the duration of the bakes.
• Charlie is wonderfully hands-off for pizza, so there is no turning, and everyone gets to eat together.

Give it a go

This is one of those recipes that gets better every time you make it. Fire up the Charlie, get a few toppings ready and enjoy the process. Once you start making your own dough, it is hard to go back.