Making pizza the same day

Short answer

You do not need a 48-hour ferment to make good pizza. Several styles are traditionally made with same-day dough — grandma and other pan pizzas, bar pizza, Chicago tavern-style, St. Louis-style (unleavened or minimally leavened) and flammekueche — and they suit a domestic oven well. Bought dough needs only warming up and stretching, and a premade base needs only toppings and a bake. Long fermentation adds flavour and extensibility; it is a choice, not a precondition.

You do not need a 48-hour ferment

Long, cold fermentation develops more flavour and makes dough easier to stretch, which is why many recipes for Neapolitan or New York-style pizza call for one. But plenty of pizza traditions use dough made the same day, and a same-day dough with a little more yeast and a warm rise of a few hours can make a very good pizza. The trade-off is a milder, simpler flavour and a slightly tighter dough, not failure.

PizzaHQ's fermentation schedule tool shows how yeast quantity and temperature change the timing if you want to plan a dough that is ready this evening.

Styles built for the same day

Grandma pizza is pressed into an oiled sheet pan and given a short rise in the pan; the oil and pan make it forgiving in a domestic oven. Bar pizza and Chicago tavern-style are thin, crisp pizzas traditionally made from dough that is not fermented for long, and are cut into squares. St. Louis-style uses an unleavened or minimally leavened cracker-thin crust, so it needs little or no rising time. Flammekueche uses a thin, often unleavened or barely leavened dough baked very hot with crème fraîche, onion and bacon.

PizzaHQ's build guides for grandma, bar pizza, St. Louis and Chicago tavern-style pizza in a domestic oven give full methods; the flammekueche guide covers that style.

Bought dough and premade bases

Bought dough is the quickest route to a stretched, hand-made-style pizza: it only needs warming up until relaxed — often from half an hour to a couple of hours from the fridge, judged by touch — then stretching and baking. A premade or par-baked base is quicker still: top lightly and bake. Both have their own guides on PizzaHQ.

Choosing a route for tonight

If you have three or four hours, a same-day pan dough (grandma or a simple Sicilian-style sheet) is the most forgiving homemade option. If you have an hour or two, bought dough or a St. Louis-style cracker crust fits. If you have half an hour, a premade base is the realistic choice. PizzaHQ's 'Pizza tonight' page walks through these options against the time you have.

Common misconceptions

“Good pizza needs a 48- or 72-hour cold ferment.”

Long fermentation adds flavour and extensibility, but many styles are traditionally made the same day, and a well-made same-day dough makes good pizza.

“Adding much more yeast makes a long-ferment dough ready in an hour.”

More yeast speeds rising, but too much gives a yeasty taste and dough that over-proofs quickly. Choosing a style designed for a short rise usually works better.

What this page cannot tell you

PizzaHQ has not tested these routes in its own kitchen. Same-day timings depend on yeast quantity, dough and room temperature, so any hours given are approximate; the fermentation schedule tool gives a planned estimate, not a guarantee.

Related

Evidence

• Dough Temperature — King Arthur Baking Company
• How to tell if bread dough has risen enough — King Arthur Baking Company
• Tips for Using Store-Bought Pizza Dough — Scott's Pizza Tours
• The Pizza Bible — Ten Speed Press