Making pizza dough from scratch takes time and effort. Aside from mixing ingredients, you’ll also have to knead the dough for at least 20 minutes to make sure it achieves a smooth and elastic consistency, as well as to get rid of air bubbles.
But if you’re in a hurry and you want to make quick pizza dough, using a food processor is the next best thing to hand kneading your dough. If you’ve never tried it before, then you’re in for a surprise.
Hand kneading may take you 20 minutes to make pizza dough, but with a food processor, you can have a properly mixed and kneaded pizza crust in just 5 minutes.
Can You Make Pizza Dough With a Food Processor?
The answer is yes; you can definitely make pizza dough from a food processor. It would be best if you had a multi-function food processor with two types of blades, plastic and a metal blade. Most food processor manufacturers recommend using a plastic blade for dough, but many home cooks prefer to use metal blades.
If you’re looking for a top-quality food processor to make pizza dough, the Magimix Food Processor is a great choice.
Pizza dough can get sticky and heavy once all the ingredients are mixed, and you need a powerful motor to get things done. The Magimix Food Processor features a powerful 1110-Watt motor with a 16-cup capacity so you can make several pizza doughs in one go or make one large pizza.
The Benefits of Using a Food Processor to Make Pizza Dough
Though you can use a stand mixer or hand-knead pizza dough, why should you consider using a food processor?
Well, if you want to save time and you don’t want to hurt your arms from kneading, a food processor to make pizza dough is definitely for you.
Saves Time
Hand kneading or using a stand mixer can take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes, but with a food processor, your pizza dough will be ready in as little as 5 minutes.
Pizza Dough Will Rise Faster
Another time-saving element of using a food processor is that the dough will rise faster. This is because the blades will get warm as they knead the dough, making the yeast rise quickly. The dough will grow in a warm environment, and the heat from the dough blades will eliminate the need to wait for it to rise.
Excellent Mix of Liquid and Dry Ingredients
As long as you add in the liquid ingredients slowly as the blades turn, and as long as you don’t over knead the dough, you’ll get a beautiful, smooth, and shiny dough with no dry spots. Air pockets are also better dispersed with a food processor.
Consider: Breville Sous Chef Food Processor
Should You Use Plastic or Metal Blades?
Most manufacturers of food processors recommend using plastic blades in kneading pizza dough. However, many cooks also prefer to use metal blades. The latter seems to have a more robust and more potent force on the dough, giving you faster pizza dough with a more refined and more elastic consistency.
However, there’s a downside to using metal blades. Metal creates a lot of heat and can easily affect the dough’s rise. Too much heat can kill the yeast cells, which can lessen the rise of your dough.
You can use chilled water instead of warm water in your pizza dough recipe to remedy this.
Related: Can you freeze pizza dough?
How to Make Pizza Dough With a Food Processor
Here is a simple pizza dough recipe:
Ingredients:
- 3 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ tsp yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 ⅓ cup warm water
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
Step 1: Mix the yeast, sugar, and water. Stir the ingredients until a foamy consistency is reached. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Step 2: Pour your flour and salt into the food processor and gently turn on your appliance.
Step 3: As the food processor runs, carefully pour the yeast mixture into the feed tube. It will slowly mix with the flour mixture to form a ball. Blend all ingredients for at least 45 seconds.
Step 4: Turn off your food processor once the ball is made. Pour the oil into the feed tube and turn it on again.
Blend oil to the pizza dough ball for one more minute.
Once you get a smooth consistency, turn your food processor off and remove the dough. This recipe can make about 2 pounds of dough, good enough for two 14″ pizza crusts.
Tips to Making Pizza Dough with a Food Processor
- To know if your dough is adequately kneaded, pull the dough to see if it’s stretchy and quickly springs back in place.
- While plastic blades are designed to make the dough, you can also use the metal blades for faster and more effective kneading.
- Avoid kneading, especially if your recipe has butter. Since the blades will get warm, this can soften the butter and affect your dough’s texture.
- Add liquid while the food processor runs to make sure they get mixed evenly and quickly.
- Use the chilled water to counteract the heat produced by the metal blades.
Consider: Ooni Pizza Oven
Conclusion
Making pizza from scratch can take about 45 minutes to an hour. But with a food processor, you can potentially reduce the preparation time. The kneading can take about 15 to 20 minutes, but with a food processor, you can have a quick and smooth dough in just 5 minutes, saving you time and effort.
As long as you use a heavy-duty food processor or one with a powerful motor like the Magimix Food Processor, you can enjoy quick and efficient pizza dough with a smooth and even consistency.
Though your first time making pizza dough with a food processor may not be perfect, little more practice and patience will eventually get you your desired flavor and texture.
Related: 4 Ways to reheat your pizza
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