Almost everyone who has made a homemade pizza has encountered this situation: the pizza dough for your homemade pizza has formed a giant bubble as it bakes in the oven. Not only are these large bubbles unattractive, but they also burn and cause the cheese and toppings to slide off toward the edges of the pizza. Fortunately, you are not helpless in this situation because there are a few tricks and techniques that you can employ to get the perfect crust.
Step 1
Carefully measure the amount of yeast for your pizza dough. Many home cooks think that if a little yeast is good, more must be better. Unfortunately, this will not get you a lighter crust. Instead, you will get a pizza that has too many air bubbles or that has an unpleasant beer smell. Another mistake is failing to measure the amount of yeast you use. Most home cooks are poor judges of measurement without the help of measuring spoons and measuring cups.
Step 2
Watch the dough as it rises, and allow it to rise in a warm place for the exact amount of time the recipe specifies. If you let the dough proof for too long or not long enough, bubbles can form in the dough during the baking process. Under-proofed dough forms incorrectly, which will allow bubbles to form and gather in the dough. Over-proofed dough will have bubbles because the yeast have formed too much gas, which weakens the structure of the dough and allows the bubbles to expand unchecked.
Step 3
Punch down the dough thoroughly before you spread it in the pizza pan. When the dough has risen, it naturally puffs from internal air bubbles formed by the yeast. Punching the dough down eliminates any large bubbles that have formed during proofing.
Step 4
Use a rolling pin to shape the dough into a circle for the pan instead of using your hands. The rolling pin squeezes out the gas more effectively, but your crust may not be as light after it is baked.
Step 5
Use a fork and prick holes all over the rolled-out dough in the pan, especially in the center of the dough where the bubbles tend to form.
Things You'll Need
- 1 recipe for pizza dough with ingredient
- Rolling pin
- Fork
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