Enjoy a flavorful Cheesy Garlic Romano Braid, built upon a delicious homemade pizza dough. This recipe focuses on creating the perfect pizza dough, then offers finishing touches for a cheesy, garlicky, and basil-infused braid.
BEST PIZZA DOUGH INSTRUCTIONS:
STEP 1: Add 1 tsp active dry yeast to 14oz room temp water (if doing 8 doughs) or barely warm water (if doing 4 doughs - approx. 98°F) in a large bowl, and set aside. Get another large bowl and weigh out 23oz bread flour.
STEP 2: Add 2.5 Tbsp olive oil to the water and yeast mixture. Add generous amounts of the flour mixture to the water mixture 1 cup at a time (if machine mixing). If hand mixing/kneading, pour all of the flour mixture into the water mixture. Add 2 tsp salt halfway through kneading to avoid killing the yeast. Knead/mix until reasonably together, not perfect.
STEP 3: Place dough into an airtight container with enough room for dough to double in size. It’s okay if it doesn’t double in size while fermenting in the fridge. Cover the top of the dough with plastic wrap to prevent “elephant skin”. Immediately move to the fridge to bulk ferment for a minimum of 12 hours and a maximum of 36 hours.
STEP 4: After bulk fermentation, cut dough into 9.5-10oz dough balls (comfortable 12” medium pizzas) and place into airtight containers. If making pizza that night, allow dough balls to sit at room temp for at least 2 hours before stretching. Dough balls can continue to individually ferment in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Additional Notes: Freeze dough balls for up to 2-3 weeks after 24 hours of sectioning them.
FOR THE BRAID:
Use Mozzarella cheese filling, garlic-infused butter, Romano cheese, and chopped basil to finish the braid.
OVEN INSTRUCTIONS FOR BRAID:
Conventional Oven: Preheat to 350°F. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Pizza Oven: On low with a stone temp of 650°F. Bake for 5-7 minutes.
