Semolina Pizza Crust
This simple pizza dough uses semolina flour, typically used for pasta, for a wonderfully crispy and chewy crust!
The funny thing about pizza is that the first matter of concern always seems to be about the combination of toppings, when frankly, a pizza is only as good as its crust.
I have tried quite a few pizza crust recipes and methods, and have compared pizzas that only rise for a few hours versus ones that have been aged in the fridge for a few days. And this is our holy grail, and absolute favorite pizza crust.
(Side note: I’ve also tested quite a few unconventional flour-free pizza crusts, and my favorite low carb one is this Fathead Pizza).
The secret ingredient here is semolina flour:
Semolina flour is typically used to make pasta, as it has a very high percentage of gluten-developing proteins, which is what gives the dough its stretch and elasticity. We want lots of gluten development for our pizza crust too, so the semolina does wonders in helping our pizza crust get a crispy bottom yet chewy texture.
To get started, combine hot water, a little bit of sugar, and yeast in a measuring cup:
Let it sit for 10 minutes until it’s bubbly, like this:
Add the liquid to the bowl of a stand mixer, and add olive oil and salt.
Then add the semolina and bread flour, and mix until smooth.
Let that sit for 2 hours until it has doubled in size:
After its rise, it should look all stretchy and webby, like this:
Now it’s ready to be shaped into a ball and rolled out into a circle, or rectangle. You know, however you like your pizza shaped:
You can either parbake your pizza crust, or put the toppings on and bake. Enjoy!
Semolina Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups 115 degree water
- 2.25 tsp quick rise yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1.5 cups semolina flour (10 oz by weight)
- 1.5 cups bread flour (7.5 oz by weight)
Instructions
- In a measuring cup or bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar. Give it a stir and let it sit for 10 minutes, until the liquid gets bubbly.
- Place the measuring cup liquid mixture, olive oil, salt, semolina flour, and bread flour in the bowl of a stand mixer and use the dough hook to stir it together, until it’s roughly combined. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead on medium low speed for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth. The dough will be a little bit sticky, and that’s fine. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and let it sit for 2 hours, until the dough doubles in size.
- Remove the dough to a floured board and shape it into a ball. It can now be rolled out and baked as desired. I like to split the dough into two halves since I like a thinner crust. I bake my pizzas in a 500 degree oven with toppings and sauce for about 15-20 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
75 Comments on “Semolina Pizza Crust”
There’s a fair amount of confusion around the words “semola” and “semolina.” Many think they necessarily refer to a coarser consistency, more like cornmeal, which is often sprinkled on a pizza peel to keep the dough from sticking.
But the same words can be used to describe a flour ground as finely as regular wheat flour, which is the sort usually used for pasta and bread dough. “Semola” and “semolina” refer to the part of the wheat included in the flour, not the consistency of the grind.
I assume this recipe uses the finer ground? Thx.
Yes, and I use bob’s red mill brand.
Thanks, Joanne.
I have Caputo Semola that I use for making pasta dough (along with “00”), but will try some in bread and/or pizza dough. Thanks for the recipe!
I followed the direction to the letter once using metric and then measuring cups and both were very watery. I had to add more flour (a lot) to get it to come together. The metric batch was in the fridge and my son tilted the bowl and that batch was ruined. So I am remaking it using cups and fixing the watery concern. I have not bake it as of yet and will return with my comment on taste and texture. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Hi Davis, I assume you’re using the metric conversion that’s built into the recipe plugin? Just as an FYI, that’s all done automatically by the recipe plugin and isn’t tested (I’m based in the US and am not familiar with metric). Hope it goes better with the cups. Glad you were able to adjust by adding more flour.
I am definitely making this pizza dough this weekend! Yum
I wish I could post pics…. I made this dough last night (originally intended to make pizza with it), but decided at the last minute to make a stromboli instead. OMG! The dough is so versatile. The stromboli tasted just as good as a pizza. We love the crunchy and chewy texture. It also makes great thin crust pizza. Thank you!
A bit late to the party but I have to ask. Given how glutenous semolina flour is, I am interested in knowing if one should even bother with using wheat gluten for this recipe. Additionally, while I can see that you folks don’t seem to mind just having the dough be ready in a few hours, I would like to know if this particular recipe has yielded better results from a cold rise. Hope you catch this comment, regardless, thanks for the recipe.
Did you try a slow rise? Share your experience!
I’m gonna try this with the bread machine this wknd & will let u know 😉
I tried this and the dough stayed sticky as hell even with sprinkling flour constantly on it. Any suggestions or ideas?
Hi Stephen, what kind of board or kneading surface are you using? Sometimes that makes a difference. The tricky part with doughs is you can add more flour to make the dough less sticky and easier to handle, but the dough will be denser. So it’s kind of a balance that you have to strike. If it’s unbearably sticky you can add more flour, but add only enough to make it workable.
This sounds great. Will be trying this soon. I like to prebake my crust just for a little bit, then add toppings and finish baking.
I made this crust yesterday.
I used my bread machine and it turned out wonderful. A beautiful dough that raised so nice and was so soft. It raised partly in machine and then took it out let it finish raising in the oven at a !00 degrees. I just keep punching it down until I am ready to cook the dough later in the day.
I love the crust. My husband thought it was a little too crunchy but did eat 5 pieces!!!!!! And more for breakfast this morning.
I will be making it again.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. I love it.
YAY! I’m so happy that you were impressed with the crust! And good to know it worked well in the bread machine too. Very helpful!
This looks great! I can’t find bread flour where i live overseas. Do you think AP flour would work?
Thanks!
Sorry, I just noticed someone else already asked about the AP flour. Nevermind 😉
If you can only find AP flour then add vital wheat gluten to the AP. This is what I do because I like unbleached flour and I can never find unbleached bread flour.
The recipe sounds good. I usually just sprinkle pan with cornmeal. I will have to look for semolina.
I totally agree–the crust makes the pizza! Thanks for the recipe!
Funny enough I see toppings as each persons staple to better enjoy the crust. Most people have 1, maybe 2 different pies they will order. Some might eat all kinds of pizza if it is available and they are hungry, but having staple ingredients allows us to better observe the rest of the food. IMO
I just started using bread flower for my pizza and dusting with corn meal. I will try this next time though! Thank you for the tip on semolina flour!
Hope you enjoy the crust, Jeff!
Thanks Joanne! Could I use all purpose flour rather than bread flour? Thanks!
Hi Kate, I haven’t tried it with all purpose, but I know that all purpose doesn’t have as much protein as the bread flour. The good news is bread flour is easy to find!
Can you make this in a bread machine?
Hi Barbara, I have never owned a bread machine so I’m not sure how that would work. Sorry!
Would love this pizza crust for sure! So smart to use the semolina flour!
I agree that the crust is just as important as the toppings. I will have to try out this version.