Italian Pizza Dough Recipe -- Simple Hands, Simple Night

Second week of January. Back to work, back to routine. The restaurant equipment for Smoke and Nuoc Mam is fully installed now — every piece I spec'd, from the custom smoker to the six-burner cook line to the three-bay sink. Lily sent me a photo of the completed kitchen and I stared at it for five minutes. My equipment list, my drawings, my decades of restaurant supply knowledge — it's all there, in steel and copper and ceramic tile. The kitchen I designed for my daughter. There are moments in a man's career where everything he's done converges into a single outcome, and this was mine.

Tyler sent his weekly Marcus update: the baby sleeps in three-hour increments, eats constantly, and has discovered that making sounds at 2 AM gets a response. Tyler said, "He's negotiating." I said, "He's a Tran. We negotiate loudly and at inconvenient times." Jessica was laughing in the background. She gets us. That's why she's family.

Made a simple dinner: cá kho tộ again — the clay pot catfish that I make when I want something deeply Vietnamese and uncomplicated. Catfish in caramelized fish sauce with black pepper and shallots. Served over rice. Eaten in the specific silence of a man who has had a long week and needs the food to do the talking.

I’ll be honest — some weeks you make cá kho tộ, and some weeks you keep the dough in the fridge from Sunday and you use it on Thursday because the week finally broke and you just want to press something flat with your hands and put it in a hot oven. That’s what this dough is for me: not Vietnamese, not a statement, just a thing I learned a long time ago that works every time. After staring at Lily’s finished kitchen for five minutes and thinking about Tyler negotiating with a newborn at 2 AM, I needed to make something that asked nothing of me except patience and flour.

Italian Pizza Dough Recipe

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 1 hr 30 min (includes rise) | Servings: 2 pizza crusts (8 portions)

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups (440g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (110°F)
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for the bowl
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Activate the yeast. Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl. Stir gently and let sit for 5–8 minutes until foamy. If it doesn’t foam, your water was too hot or the yeast is old — start over.
2. Mix the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture and olive oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
3. Knead. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky. Add flour a tablespoon at a time only if absolutely necessary — resist the urge to add too much.
4. First rise. Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
5. Divide and rest. Punch dough down and divide into two equal portions. Shape each into a tight ball. Cover and let rest 15 minutes before stretching — this relaxes the gluten and makes the dough much easier to work with.
6. Stretch and top. On a lightly floured surface (or parchment), gently press and stretch each dough ball into a 12-inch round. Add sauce, cheese, and toppings of your choice.
7. Bake. Bake on a preheated pizza stone or heavy baking sheet at 475°F for 10–13 minutes, until the crust is golden and blistered at the edges and the cheese is bubbling.

Nutrition (per serving, dough only)

Calories: 215 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 4g | Carbs: 39g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 185mg