To say I was excited about this virtual pizza dough masterclass is an understatement. My number one passion is food, in all shapes and forms. In the same way that someone might want to meet their favorite musician, I instead get excited over famous chefs and food experts.
So, when I realized I could join a Zoom call and learn to make pizza dough with Scott Wiener from one of my favorite YouTube series Really Dough, it was probably the equivalent of someone finding out they could pay $35 to party with Beyoncé.
I booked the class, luckily held on a Saturday lunch time (EST) and told my girlfriend Ellie what we were going to be doing. She was (almost) as excited as me. The class was set to last for 90-minutes, and we’ll admit that we were wondering why mixing together yeast, water, flour and oil was going to take an hour and a half. But spoiler alert, Scott has a lot of pizza knowledge to impart!
I’ve only recently gotten into cooking since lockdown hit last year; before that, my passion was in the eating part only. Although one of my ventures involved a surprisingly successful focaccia bread, I would class myself as a novice when it comes to dough and baking in general - which meant this was really a test of Scott’s ability to teach us his pizza making secrets.
The Dough Making
When we first joined the call, Scott gave us all a warm and friendly welcome. After introductions and talking through the ingredients everyone had with them, it was time to get our hands dirty and dive right in. First, we dissolved our salt into the water, next, we sprinkled the flour straight into our bowl of water and then we did a ‘rough mix’, before adding our yeast and going in for our first fold.
Scott then explained that there were several points where we needed to leave the dough to hydrate and rest during the process. These seemingly small amounts of time, make the world of difference to the finished dough. During this interlude Scott answered all our questions on how to make the perfect dough, as well as explaining what to look for, how each step alters the dough you’re creating, and how the slightest differences such as type of flour and salt can affect the finished results. After the 15 minute hydration time, we added in our oil and kneaded the dough until the oil had been combined, followed by another knead on a floured work surface.
Finally, we divided and folding our dough into balls and covered them to prove overnight in the fridge (a slow prove like this allows the yeast to develop more flavor). If you choose to purchase the second half of his class, he’ll talk you through how to stretch and shape your dough and cook it to perfection the next day.
There was definitely a science as well as an art to the process that he’s obviously dedicated a large portion of his life to perfecting. There were only 4 other people on our call, and it was clear to see that these sessions needed to be kept intimate.
This was because Scott guided us all through the process individually. He tailored each recipe dependant on the temperature of our kitchens and where we were in the world, as well as the type of flour, yeast and measuring equipment we had. Even though it was a small group, Scott’s infectious passion for pizza and playful demeanor made for an upbeat, fun-filled experience.
I took the last moments of the session to ask Scott all about his favourite pizza memories, where his love for pizza began and where to get the best slice in New York City.
The Pizza Making
Ellie and I only joined for the first half of the experience, so I was very pleasantly surprised when Scott sent through instruction videos for stretching and building your pizza anyway.
When the time came the next evening, we used a mixture of his video tutorials and ‘the frying pan cooking method’. I asked Scott about this method during our call the day before, and he said that the dough would work perfectly with it.
He even recommended a video on Pizza Pilgrims’ Instagram that would talk us through how to execute it flawlessly. The method consists of a super-hot frying pan (the extreme heat coming from the bottom is essential for the dough’s outcome), followed by sticking the same pan under an extremely hot grill to cook the top half. Pizzas are usually cooked in a wood fired oven at around 700 degrees Fahrenheit, so you’re trying to replicate that as much as possible from your home.
I cannot rave about the outcome of our pizza enough. I simply cannot believe that I managed to make such a good pizza dough at all, let alone on my first ever attempt of making pizza EVER. The difference the overnight prove made to the flavor of the dough itself was easy to distinguish.
I topped my pizza with homemade marinara, mozzarella, smoked ham, burrata, homemade maple chillies and chilli oil. It was honestly so fricking tasty; I wish I could share it with you. The beauty of homemade pizza is getting to choose your perfect combination of toppings. I keep telling everyone that I have paid a decent amount of money for pizzas that aren’t as good as this one.
The real test will lie in whether I can pull it off a second time without the expert eye of Scott for guidance, but I can assure you I can’t wait to give it another go! Watch this space, there’ll be an Experience Gifts pizza joint opening soon.
Scott is the expert in all thing’s pizza. Unfortunately, I think these at home online sessions have now come to an end. But this means Scott’s raved about pizza tours are back up and running and I’m genuinely considering planning a trip to NYC just so I can take one!
