3 Day Poolish Pizza Dough

This 3 day poolish pizza dough makes the best crusts! Chewy & crisp, this dough has incredible oven spring & a well developed flavour.

The dough can either make or break a pizza so it’s important to get it right!

For this recipe, we’re taking advantage of a poolish pre ferment & a long, cold prove in the fridge. This is the secret to making really good, artisan style pizza. If you’re after pizza with a chewy, airy crust, a crisp base & a well developed flavour, this 3 day poolish pizza dough recipe is for you!

Although this dough does take 72 hours to make, most of that time is hands off & the results really do speak for themselves. In this recipe, each part of the process is broken down into easy to follow steps and we’ll be covering how to make & use a pre ferment, signs of a properly fermented dough, an easy way to stretch pizza dough by hand for the best crusts and how to cook this dough in a pizza oven.

For more recipes, take a look at our ever growing collection of bread recipes! There’s buns, rolls, sourdough, bagels, doughnuts & lots more. And for more pizza doughs, sauces & toppings, check out our pizza recipe collection.

What Is A Poolish?

A poolish is a liquid pre ferment that is used in place of yeast in bread & pizza doughs. To make this, we combine equal parts flour & water with a tiny amount of dried active yeast then leave to ferment either at room temperature, in the fridge or a combination of both.

For this pizza dough recipe, we’re making a 100% hydration poolish using a quarter of our total flour & 0.8g of yeast (this is a baker’s percentage of 0.1%). This is then left to ferment at room temperature for 1 hour then it’s placed in the fridge for 24 hours. The initial room temperature ferment helps kick start the fermentation and the cold ferment means that we can stick it in the fridge & not worry about it!

The Secret To Great Oven Spring

Oven spring is the term used to describe the dough’s final rise in the oven, just before the crust sets.

When dough is loaded into a pizza oven, the high temperature causes it to heat up instantly. At the same time, a combination of carbon dioxide (converted from sugar by the yeast) & steam (from the water) causes a rapid increase in the dough’s volume. This is what gives the crust its’ airy, open crumb.

The secret to getting the best oven spring comes down to a high level of hydration, good gluten formation, optimal fermentation & a high cooking temperature. This is easier than it sounds though and basically just means that we need to ferment & cook the dough at the correct temperatures. As well as making sure that we knead the dough for long enough initially. We’ll be going through each of these steps in detail in this post!

Ingredients Used For Poolish Pizza Dough

A good homemade pizza dough only needs a few ingredients; flour, salt, yeast, water & sometimes oil. So using good quality ingredients is key here!

00 Flour

The type of flour that you use for pizza affects the type of crust that you’ll get. We’re after a light, airy, slightly chewy crust which means that we need to use 00 flour. This is an Italian flour that is finely ground & is commonly used for pasta and pizza.

For cold fermented pizza & doughs made with a pre ferment, it’s best to use a flour with a protein content of around 12-14%. This is the ideal protein content as it can handle higher levels of hydration and makes dough with a stronger gluten network which means that the structure won’t break down during the longer prove.

In my opinion, the best 00 flour to use for pizza is from a brand called Caputo. For this recipe I used their Nuvola flour but their Classica or Pizzeria flour could be used instead. For this dough, we’re aiming for a soft, slightly chewy crust so this is the perfect flour to use. These all have a protein content of 12-12.5%. For a chewier, more robust pizza crust you’d use a flour with a protein content closer to 14%.

Dried Active Yeast

As we are making this pizza dough with a preferment, we only need to use a tiny amount of yeast (less than 1 gram!) and because we’re fermenting this dough over several days in the fridge, there’s no need to activate the yeast in warm water before using. Just make sure to use yeast that’s still in date so you know it’s still active!

Salt

Salt is added to pizza dough to add flavour, to strengthen gluten & to slow down fermentation (depending on how much is used). Typically you’d use between 2% & 3% of the flours total weight in salt which gives a good flavour without being salty. A good sea salt (like Maldon salt) is the best option.

Water

To make pizza with a light, open crumb, we need to use a fairly high level of hydration. Somewhere in the region of 60% – 70% of the total flour weight should be liquid. To make a dough with an open crumb but that’s still easy to handle, we’re going with 65% hydration.

When you’re measuring out the water, it’s important to get the temperature as close to 25.5°c/78°f as possible. Using a digital food probe is key here.

Olive Oil

Adding a small amount of olive oil to pizza dough, makes crusts with a slightly softer texture. If you’d prefer a crispier pizza base, leave the oil out & replace it with extra water.

How To Make 3 Day Poolish Pizza Dough

This homemade pizza dough is made over 3 days, which gives it a more developed flavour & next level oven spring! This may seem like a lot of effort for pizza dough but it really is worth it & there’s actually very little prep involved. It’s more about the planning & timing!

Step 1 – Poolish

The first step is making the poolish pre ferment. To do this, dissolve dried active yeast in water then mix in 00 flour until just combined. This mix is then left at room temperature for 1 hour in an airtight container. Make sure to use a container that has enough room for the poolish to double in size (at least!).

After an hour, place the poolish in the fridge & leave it there for 18-24 hours.

Day 2 – Dough

The next day, it’s time to make the main dough.

Step 1 – Autolyse

First, take the poolish out of the fridge & leave it at room temperature for 1 hour.

At the same time, we mix (in a stand mixer) 00 flour with water & olive oil until just combined then leave to autolyse for the same amount of time. After an hour, the poolish should have doubled in size from its’ original volume. If it hasn’t, we let it sit at room temperature until it has. A slightly longer autolyse is fine so don’t worry if it sits for longer than an hour!

Step 2 – Mixing The Dough

Once the poolish is ready, mix it into the dough, followed by the sea salt. Then knead the dough until it’s smooth and passes the windowpane test. This will take around 10 minutes of mixing on a medium speed with a dough hook.

The windowpane test is used to check gluten development in dough. To do this, stretch a small amount of dough between your fingers. If it stretches thin enough so that you can see through it, it’s ready. If it doesn’t the dough requires more kneading.

Step 3 – Prove & Shape Then Cold Ferment

The kneaded dough is now left to ferment at room temperature for 1 hour before being divided into 5 equal portions (260 grams each) & shaped into balls. Finally, each ball of dough is placed into an oiled container & left in the fridge for a 36-48 hour cold prove.

Stretching And Cooking

Tempering The Dough

After 2 days in the fridge, the balls of dough are ready to make into pizza. But first, they need to sit at room temperature for 1½ – 2 hours. This is called tempering the dough & gives the gluten time to relax, making the dough easier to stretch/open up. If you use pizza dough straight from the fridge it will be hard work with and will most likely tear!

How To Remove Dough Without Degassing

To remove a ball of dough from it’ container, gently tip it out onto a floured surface then flip it over so that it’s facing the same way as it was in the container (smooth side up). It’s key to do this gently to avoid knocking any air out of the dough

Stretching – The Steering Wheel Method

There are many ways that you can stretch a ball of dough into a pizza base but the way I like to use is called the “steering wheel” method. This is where you use your fingertips to press the dough into a disc (leaving a border round the outside) then hold it in the air & rotate it in your hands (like turning a steering wheel), pinching around the crust as you do so. This way, you’re letting gravity do the stretching for you.

When shaping, it’s important to keep as much gas in the dough as possible. This is key to getting a good oven spring & light, airy crust. Make sure to brush any excess flour from your dough before baking as it will burn in the oven!

Cooking

Once shaped, add a thin layer of toppings then cook in a 400°c – 450°c (750°f/840°f) pizza oven for 1-1½ minutes, making sure to turn the pizza regularly with a peel, to stop it from burning. As this dough makes thick, airy crusts, we need to cook it at a slightly lower temperature than you would with say a Neapolitan pizza, to prevent it from burning.

The Best Way To Cook Pizza

Pizzas are best cooked at a very high temperature, somewhere in the region of 400°c – 450°c (750°f/840°f). The only way that we can achieve these temperatures is by using a pizza oven, fuelled either by gas or wood. The cooking time will be pretty much the same either way.

When I cook pizzas at home, I use a Gozney pizza oven which is fuelled by gas. If you are also using one of these ovens, I’d recommend preheating it for at least 30 minutes, to properly saturate the stone. I tend to cook this dough with the dial set at medium-low.

3 Day Poolish Pizza Dough Tips & Tricks

• Make sure to measure the water temperature accurately with a digital food probe.
• Lightly grease the dough containers with olive oil. This will make removing the dough easier.
• Flour your work surface before stretching the dough to stop it sticking.
• Cook the dough in a pizza oven at 400°c – 450°c (750°f/840°f) & turn regularly, using a peel.
• Preheat your pizza oven so that the stone is well saturated with heat.
• Use a laser temperature gun for accurate pizza stone temperature readings.
• Don’t add too many toppings to the pizza. This can make the crust soggy.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Pizza Recipes To Try

• 2 Day Pizza Dough
• Pizza Oven Pittas
• 100% Biga Potato Pizza Dough
• Pizza Oven Garlic Bread With Burrata
• Roasted Garlic White Pizza Sauce
• Classic Tomato & Basil Sauce

Watch How To Make This Recipe

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