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4.91 from 10 votes

The Best Overnight Pizza Dough

This Overnight Pizza Dough is super easy to make with minimal ingredients. Baked to perfection with tons of flavor and texture! 
Prep Time30 minutes
Resting Time20 hours
Total Time20 hours 30 minutes
Course: Entree, Pizza
Cuisine: Italian-Inspired
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 2 pizza dough balls
Calories: 1033.76kcal
Author: Tracey Gene

Ingredients

Poolish:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbsp water
  • tsp instant dried yeast (about a scant of 1/8 tsp)

Final Dough:

  • Poolish
  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 ⅛ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

Make the Poolish:

  • Warm 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of water in the microwave to a temperature of 80°F.
  • Add a scant of 1/8 teaspoon of yeast to the warmed water and let sit for a few seconds. 
  • Add 2 cups of flour to a bowl, and then add the water with the yeast.
  • Mix with a spatula to combine, then mix by hand until fully incorporated. 
  • Place a kitchen towel on top of the bowl covering the mixture, and place the bowl in the microwave with the light on underneath. Leave untouched for about 12-14 hours.

Make the Final Dough:

  • Take the Poolish out of the microwave to confirm it's ready. You will know because there should be bubbles on top (see the top picture in the blog post). 
  • Warm 1/2 cup of water in the microwave to a temperature of 80°F.
  • Add 2 cups of flour, 2 and 1/8 teaspoon of salt, and the warmed water to the poolish. Wet your hand and mix everything. You may need to wet your hand a few more times. 
  • Once mixed, start folding the dough to combine all the ingredients. You will need to fold for about 5 minutes to get a nice soft dough. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and fold the dough again by working in a circle.  Once done, add one more tablespoon of olive oil and smooth it on top.
  • Place a kitchen towel on top of the bowl and place it in the microwave with the light underneath. Leave untouched for about 6 hours, or until you see the dough has doubled in size. 

Divide the dough into 2 balls:

  • Flour your surface and gently ease the dough out of the bowl. Dust the top of the dough and cut into two equal-size pieces with a dough scraper or knife.  
  • Flour each piece and fold one time around.
  • Flour a baking sheet and place both pieces on top, and cover with a kitchen towel.
  • Preheat the oven to the highest temperature it can go, anywhere from 500 to 550°F.
  • Place the baking sheet on top of the stove while the oven preheats. Let the dough rest for about 30-minutes before using.  (If the dough sits longer than 30 minutes, the dough will start to get crusty on top, so set a timer if not using right away).
  • The dough balls should have doubled in size.  Use right away by rolling the dough flat, or put them in zip lock bags and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. After 24 hours, use the pizza dough or store it in the freezer for up to 1 month. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 1033.76kcal | Carbohydrates: 190.77g | Protein: 25.83g | Fat: 16.45g | Saturated Fat: 2.32g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10.44g | Sodium: 2339.63mg | Potassium: 268.12mg | Fiber: 6.75g | Sugar: 0.68g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Calcium: 44.4mg | Iron: 11.7mg