While alcohol is the best-known beverage that uses yeast, it is also a very important part of the pizza dough.
In my opinion, Caputo Yeast is the best yeast for pizza dough that you can use when making pizzas at home.
Pizza dough is the first thing that you should make when cooking pizzas at home.
It takes longer than the cooking process itself so it sometimes needs to be made the day before cooking it.
You can make great pizzas by adding your favorite toppings and homemade pizza sauces but perhaps the biggest determining factor of whether the pizza is good or not is the crust that you have made.
The crust holds all the ingredients together and adds a little bit of flavor to the pizza.
It needs to be perfect or else the whole pie will be ruined if the crust is too soggy or overcooked.
This all starts with the dough as it involves important chemical reactions that you need to get that crispy finish on the crust.
This means that you need to make the dough properly.
To do that, you need good yeast to make sure that the dough develops, rises, and ferments properly.
So here, we will look at the best types of yeast that you can use for your pizza.
Table of Contents
Fresh Vs Dried Yeast
There are many different types of yeast that you can use when making pizzas.
Perhaps the two most common types are fresh yeast and dry yeast and they have some differences you need to know.
Fresh yeast is usually wet or moist which means that it is already starting to be activated.
This single-celled organism helps in making the pizza dough rise properly by using up gluten in it.
Compared to dry yeast, fresh yeast is more easily perishable, which needs to be stored right away.
It also needs to be proofed before using which means it takes more time.
On the other hand, Dry yeast is fresh yeast that has been pressed and dried to remove all the moisture in it.
It has a longer shelf life but that does not mean that it is not easily perishable.
You need to make sure that you store it right after opening and using it to keep it active and usable.
You need to store it in a dark, dry, and cold place such as the refrigerator.
When using dry yeast, you need to activate it first before you mix it into the dough.
That is why it is mixed with warm water before you add it to the flour and the other ingredients of the dough.
Instant Dry Yeast Vs Active Dry Yeast
You can use another pair of yeasts that you can use when making pizza dough with instant dry yeast and active dry yeast.
These are quite similar but they do have some important differences.
Instant yeast in general, is a type of yeast that allows the dough to rise quickly.
This is often used on pizza doughs especially if you want to cook your pizza right after you made the dough.
Active dry yeast is a type of yeast that needs to be mixed with water first to activate it.
That way, it will use the gluten in the flour and make it rise as soon as it is mixed.
One benefit that you can get from active dry yeast is that you will surely know whether it is still alive or not.
You can determine it by letting it bloom or activate in warm water beforehand.
Instant yeast might seem fast-acting and ready to use, but the disadvantage is that there is no sure way to tell whether it is alive once it mixes into the dough.
Advantages Of Fresh Yeast
The first thing that comes to mind when using fresh yeast is flavor and texture, two of the most important features that you need to look for in the pizza dough to see if it will be crispy.
The main advantage of using fresh yeast is that it reduces the carbon dioxide in the dough.
It also activates the gluten in the flour slowly to develop more flavors and texture in the dough.
Fresh yeast is active for longer periods than dry yeast, which means that you can let your pizza dough rise longer to get the flavors you want to put into your pizza.
Advantages Of Instant Dry Yeast
Instant yeast is something that you can use in recipes other than pizza. However, the advantage you get from using it on your pizza dough is that you get to manage it right away.
It does not need a lot of time to rise and the dough requires a lot less instant yeast than dry yeast.
About 25% less instant yeast is needed to make the dough rise properly.
Since instant yeast is already activated, you can also put it directly into the dough.
There is no need to waste time trying to bloom the yeast in water before mixing it with the other ingredients.
Advantages Of Active Dry Yeast
The main advantage of active dry yeast is buying it in bulk as it has a longer shelf life.
You can store it in the fridge for months compared to fresh yeast that only lasts a couple of weeks.
You also get to determine whether you are using yeast that is alive or not.
When using active dry yeast, it needs to be activated in warm water to see if it can still activate before mixing it in.
Although it takes more time to activate and use, it is one way to ensure that your pizza dough will rise properly while it is resting and create that crispy crust with an airy interior.
Which Is The Best Yeast For Pizza Dough?
You can use any type of yeast that you want when making pizza dough.
There are not many differences between the results as long as you use the yeast properly and leaven the dough.
In my opinion, active dry yeast is the best type of yeast that you can use for your pizza dough as it is easier to manage.
You can also see whether it is still good or not before putting it in the mixture.
It is also good for beginners so you can see how it works.
It is hard to adjust when you use fresh yeast as it will dissolve with the dough right away which means you need to wait.
My Favorite Yeast For Pizza Dough
Caputo is a company popularized by its amazing Tipo 00 flour that you can use to make the crispiest pizza crusts at home.
They are also known for their yeast that can make the best crusts as well.
Caputo sells active dry yeast that you can find on Amazon.
The yeast they sell is truly one of the best as it activates properly and uses up as much gluten without overworking the dough.
The yeast is specialized for long proofing periods.
That means that it makes the dough healthier and full of flavor while also preventing it from burning instantly when cooked at high temperatures.
If you love proofing the dough for more than a day, then this is the perfect yeast for you.
It will give your pizza dough more flavor and improve the texture to make it crispy and airy.
Pizza Dough Using Caputo Yeast
What You Will Need
- 4 grams of Caputo Active Dry Yeast
- 1000 grams of Tipo 00 Flour
- 570 grams of water
- 12 grams of olive oil
- 25 grams of salt
We have used the exact measurements in weight so that you can make the dough work better.
It is a better way of measuring the ingredients compared to cups, tablespoons, or teaspoons.
You can use the PizzApp+ to get the exact measurements for your quantity of flour.
It is a free app and you can adjust the quantities of dough and water in the app without making any manual mistakes.
Step 1: Mix The Ingredients
Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and then mix them well together.
Use some of the water and all the olive oil to mix and start creating a sticky texture on the dough.
Leave some of the water on the side to activate the dry yeast.
Mix the ingredients by hand or with a stand mixer for about 5 minutes and then move to the next step while it rests.
Step 2: Activate And Mix The Yeast
Put the Caputo Active Dry Yeast in the warm water and then stir it a little bit.
Leave it to activate until it produces bubbles on the water’s surface before mixing it to the dough in the bowl.
Step 3: Knead The Dough
We have a full article that talks about the proper way of kneading and you can read that.
Once you have mixed the yeast into the dough, start kneading by hand or stand mixer for pizza dough.
Kneading by hand usually takes around 10 to 12 minutes to fully mix and activate the gluten in the flour.
The texture of the finished dough should be a little sticky, which is pretty natural.
Place the dough back in the bowl and then cover the bowl with a damp towel and let the dough rise for 2 to 3 hours.
After it has doubled in size, bring it out and then divide it into four pieces.
Cover each dough ball in a container and then rest again for up to 4 hours.
Once you are done with this, you can store the dough in a cold place for about 16 hours, this lets the dough ferment the right way.
Once you are done with that, you can take out your pizza dough ball from the container and if you kept it in the refrigerator then you have to let it sit out for about four hours again, so it comes to normal room temperature.
If you did not let it sit out then the dough will be stressed and it would not stretch properly.
Once you are done taking care of all these pointers, you are ready to stretch out your pizza dough.
Get your favorite pizza sauce and toppings and make a beautiful crispy pizza with the dough you made!
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