Kneading Pizza Dough by hand | Neapolitan Pizza from scratch | Part 2

Kneading pizza dough by hand

Kneading pizza dough by hand is much easier than people think.

In part 2 of this series about making Neapolitan pizza from scratch, I show you exactly how to knead pizza dough by hand. You don’t an electric mixer or anything special. You just need (excuse the pun) your hands and a bowl!

If you missed part 1 on mixing the ingredients you can check it out here. If you want to find out about kneading pizza dough by hand then read on!

Kneading pizza dough video

As well as detailed instructions in this article, I have made a video below to show the kneading technique I like to use. Feel free to check out the video below to see how easy kneading pizza dough by hand really is!

If you missed it, be sure to check out my previous article in this series on mixing Neapolitan pizza dough. Once you have read that article and watched the video, you’ll be in the perfect place to start kneading!

If you’ve watched the video above and you’re ready for the windowpane test in part 3 then click here. If you want to find out more about kneading pizza dough by hand then read on!

Why knead pizza dough?

The simple answer is that kneading pizza dough makes the dough stronger. A dough that has been kneaded well can be shaped without worrying about whether the dough is going to rip. Weak dough is no fun to work with!

As well as making pizza dough stronger, kneading also helps to make the dough more stretchy. This makes the pizza much easier to shape. You should be able to work with the dough without fighting it.

Can you knead pizza dough by hand?

In a word, yes! I actually recommend that beginners try kneading by hand. It’s much easier than you probably think it is. Also, kneading by hand will improve your feel for pizza dough very quickly.

I find the best way to learn about pizza dough is to get stuck in! Don’t worry about getting your hands messy, it cleans off really easily.

In fact, I find kneading by hand to be quite therapeutic. It’ s also very rewarding knowing that you made your pizza completely by hand!

How to knead pizza dough

The easiest way to knead pizza dough is to use the heel of your hand. With the dough on the counter, press down hard with the heel of your hand. You should be trying to stretch the dough as much as possible as you do this.

Then gather the dough up and start again. The great thing about this is that it’s super easy! This is no correct technique. Just try to get a feel for it and do what works for you.

Best way to knead pizza dough – the “croissant technique”

The technique that I use in the video at the top of the page is quite easy to do. I call it the croissant method as you roll it up so it looks a bit like a croissant.

The reason I find this technique works so well is that the dough becomes thin as it rolls up. This means that when you do a quarter turn the dough is really easy to knead since it is not very wide or thick.

I see a lot of people kneading the pizza dough into a ball shape but I find this takes a lot more work. Because the dough is so thick, it means you have to use all your strength to stretch the dough.

I therefore only recommend balling the dough at the end of the kneading process.

How to do the “croissant technique”

With one hand (non-dominant hand) pin the nearest end of the dough to the counter. With the heel of the opposite hand, press down on the far side of the dough, stretching it away from you.

Then roll the dough up with your fingers and stretch out the middle of the dough. Repeat this process until you can’t stretch the dough any more.

At this point, turn the dough 45 degrees (quarter turn) and repeat the process.

Each time you do this you should find the dough becomes easier to stretch. This means your doing a good job of kneading!

Easy kneading technique

If you struggle with the technique I explained above, you can try something called the “fraisage” method. This is another technique that’s borrowed from artisan baking.

Basically you just spread the dough out on the counter as thin as you can using the heel of your hand. Don’t worry if the dough rips as you do it. You can then gather all the dough up and repeat the process.

Usually this method is used in bread making when adding fat (such as butter) to the dough. But as well as being useful for adding ingredients, it also kneads the dough at the same time.

I have shown this technique before in another video I made on kneading. Here’s the video below:

If you try this technique you will probably have to spend a little longer on it. However, it is really easy and pretty fool proof. If you find you’re struggling with kneading, give the frisaige a go!

How long should you knead pizza dough?

I hear many people and recipes saying that you should knead for around 10-15 minutes. In my opinion, this is way too long. I recommend kneading your pizza for around 5 minutes. That’s right, just 5 minutes!

The secret is that you should allow your pizza dough to rest before kneading. As soon as you have mixed your ingredients together, let your dough rest for around 30 minutes before kneading.

Check out my previous article in this series – mixing Neapolitan pizza dough – to check out how to mix the ingredients.

Why do you rest pizza dough?

Resting pizza dough before kneading makes the dough softer and stretchier. It makes your job of kneading much easier.

Resting your pizza dough is almost like cheating! It’s that good!

The technical term for this process is called the “autolyse”. It’s a technique commonly used in artisan baking.

The autolyse basically gives the flour time to absorb the water and become a dough. If you skip this stage, you end up spending the first few minutes just working the ingredients together.

Just be sure to cover your dough well as you let it rest. We don’t want the pizza dough to dry out. I tend to place the dough in a bowl and cover it with a plastic bag. Cling film also works well.

You probably won’t believe how well this simple resting works until you try it! You leave the dough as a shaggy mess and you come back and its lovely and soft and smooth. The dough is wonderful to work with and easy to knead.

Trust me it works!