This 48 Hour Cold Ferment Pizza Dough Is Worth Every Minute

This pizza dough is cold-fermented for 48 hours, and it's totally worth the wait. With a chewy, airy crust and deep, rich flavor, this is how I make restaurant-quality pizza at home with simple ingredients and no fancy equipment. In this video, I’ll walk you through every step — from mixing and folding to shaping and baking — so you can follow along and try it yourself. 🍕 Ingredients (for 2 pizzas): • 350g strong bread flour • 228g water (that’s 65% hydration for a nice open crumb) • A tiny pinch of instant yeast (about 0.1g or less – the long ferment does all the work!) • 9g salt • 7g olive oil 🧑‍🍳 Step-by-step process: • I started by mixing the water and yeast until dissolved. • Then added half of the flour, stirred into a smooth paste. • Added the salt, stirred again, then added the rest of the flour and olive oil. • Mixed everything just until shaggy, then kneaded it by hand for about 5–10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. • Let it rest for 30 minutes, then did a gentle stretch and fold. • Rested again for 30 minutes and repeated the fold. • After the second fold, I let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature, covered. • Transferred the dough to the fridge for a 48-hour cold fermentation. This long, slow proof develops incredible flavor and strength. • After 2 days, I brought it out, let it rest 1 hour at room temp, then divided into 2 equal pieces. • Shaped into balls carefully — remember, always keep the top of the dough on top to preserve those beautiful gas bubbles. • Let the dough balls proof for 2 hours, then shaped and topped. 🔥 Toppings I used: • Tomato sauce • Mozzarella cheese • My own homemade meatballs • Red onions • Fresh basil Baked at maximum oven temperature on a preheated steel (or stone) for that crisp, blistered crust. Even in a home oven, this method makes pizza that tastes like it came out of a professional pizzeria. 💡 Helpful Tips: This dough is very forgiving — don’t worry if it feels sticky, just use a light touch. Make sure your oven is fully preheated, ideally with a baking steel or stone. Let the dough rest and relax so it stretches easily without tearing. 🎥 If you enjoy real baking and long-fermented doughs, check out the rest of my channel — I’ve got no-knead breads, rolls, focaccia, and more. 👍 Like, 📝 comment, and 🔔 subscribe if you want to follow along on my baking journey!