Same-Day Quick Pizza Dough

2½ cups bread or all-purpose flour (315g), plus more
1 cup warm water (240g), about 110°F — warm to the wrist, not hot
2¼ tsp instant yeast (1 packet)
1 tsp sugar or honey
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for the bowl
semolina, for launching

What you need

2½ cups bread or all-purpose flour (315g), plus more

1 cup warm water (240g), about 110°F — warm to the wrist, not hot

2¼ tsp instant yeast (1 packet)

1 tsp sugar or honey

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for the bowl

semolina, for launching

Wake the yeast. Stir the sugar and yeast into the warm water; leave it 5 min until it foams. That froth is your proof the yeast is alive — the whole speed plan rides on it.
Mix. Whisk the flour and salt, keeping the salt away from the raw yeast water for a moment; add the yeast water and oil and stir to a shaggy dough.
Knead. Turn out and knead 5 min until smooth and springy; it should pull back when poked. Add flour only a spoonful at a time — a slightly tacky dough bakes lighter than a dry one.
Rise warm. Oil the bowl, cover, and set it somewhere warm until doubled, 1–1½ hr (on top of the preheating oven is perfect).
Divide & rest. Cut into 2 balls and let them sit 10–15 min under the towel. Skip this and the gluten fights back and snaps shut every time you stretch it.
Shape & bake. Stretch each ball by hand on a semolina-dusted peel, top it, and bake as hot as your oven goes (500°F+, or a stone/steel preheated 45 min) until the rim is blistered.

Steps — tap one to keep your place

1. Wake the yeast. Stir the sugar and yeast into the warm water; leave it 5 min until it foams. That froth is your proof the yeast is alive — the whole speed plan rides on it.

2. Mix. Whisk the flour and salt, keeping the salt away from the raw yeast water for a moment; add the yeast water and oil and stir to a shaggy dough.

3. Knead. Turn out and knead 5 min until smooth and springy; it should pull back when poked. Add flour only a spoonful at a time — a slightly tacky dough bakes lighter than a dry one.

4. Rise warm. Oil the bowl, cover, and set it somewhere warm until doubled, 1–1½ hr (on top of the preheating oven is perfect).

5. Divide & rest. Cut into 2 balls and let them sit 10–15 min under the towel. Skip this and the gluten fights back and snaps shut every time you stretch it.

6. Shape & bake. Stretch each ball by hand on a semolina-dusted peel, top it, and bake as hot as your oven goes (500°F+, or a stone/steel preheated 45 min) until the rim is blistered.

✨ Untested — Claude drafted this one from scratch; it hasn't been cooked and amended in our kitchen yet, so treat the amounts as a starting point. Low salt — salt at the end and taste as you go; broth, cheese, and canned goods already bring salt.