Perfect Pizza Every Time: Ninja Outdoor Oven Dough Recipe

The sizzle of a pizza on a wood-fired oven is music to the ears of any pizza lover. But who says you need a pizza restaurant or even an indoor kitchen to enjoy that authentic experience? With a ninja-like approach to outdoor cooking, you can craft a pizza with perfect crust and toppings in your own backyard. Let's dive into the art of outdoor pizza oven dough and master the ultimate ninja-style pizza.

Outdoor pizza ovens, powered by wood or gas, cook at high temperatures, reaching up to 900°F. This intense heat is what makes outdoor oven pizza so exceptional. But to fully harness this power, you need a dough that can handle it. Enter our ninja outdoor oven pizza dough recipe.

The Perfect Outdoor Pizza Dough

An outdoor pizza oven demands a pizza dough that's robust yet elastic, capable of stretch and rise in mere minutes. Our ninja dough recipe, based on the legendary Neapolitan-style dough, delivers just that.

Ingredients are simplicity itself: bread flour, water, salt, instant dry yeast, and olive oil. The key to this dough's success lies in its high-gluten flour and long fermentation time, which allow the dough to reach new heights of flavor and texture.

High-Gluten Flour

Using bread flour, which has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, gives our dough the strength to stretch thin and cook quickly in the intense heat of the outdoor oven. It also imparts a wonderful chewy texture to the crust.

Baker's percentage: 100% High-gluten flour

Temperature Matters

Another critical factor in crafting the perfect outdoor pizza dough is the temperature of your ingredients and the fermentation process. Both should be warm, ideally around 75°F. This encourages the yeast to work its magic, creating a superior dough.

Baker's percentage: 65% Water

Preparation and Fermentation

Now that we've discussed the key ingredients, let's look at how to put them together and prepare the dough for fermentation.

In a large bowl, mix your flour and salt. In a separate bowl, combine your water and yeast, allowing it to bloom for a few minutes. Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Then, add the olive oil and knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic.

D Mönster

Once your dough is kneaded, it's time to divide it into portions for individual pizzas. Traditionally, Neapolitan pizzas are about 250g each. But feel free to adjust based on your oven size and preferences.

Next, shape each dough ball into a round using a light benching motion. This ensures the dough is evenly distributed and ready for its final shaping before cooking.

Cold Fermentation

After benching, it's time to let your dough rest. Unlike some recipes, our ninja dough relies on cold fermentation. Wrap each dough ball loosely in plastic wrap, place them in an airtight container, and refrigerate them for at least 24 hours - up to 72 hours for even more developed flavor.

Cold fermentation slows down the yeast activity, allowing for a more complex flavor profile. It also makes the dough easier to stretch at high temperatures.

Now that your dough is ready, it's time to get outside and fire up the oven. Remember, patience is key - as are ninja-like stretching skills. Happy cooking!