Rutger's 1-hour pizza dough, adapted for a home oven at 70% hydration. This is the fastest possible route to pizza — not the most flavourful. There's no cold ferment, so the depth you get from an overnight dough isn't here. But when time is short and you don't have a pizza oven, this delivers a perfectly decent result in under two hours.
Combine water (32–35°C), salt, and instant yeast in a bowl. Add flour and olive oil. Mix until a dough forms, then knead for 8–10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a stand mixer on medium speed. The dough should be smooth and a little sticky at 70% hydration — that's normal.
Cover the dough and rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. This relaxes the gluten before dividing.
Divide into 4 equal pieces and shape each into a tight, smooth ball. Place on a lightly floured surface and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap.
Leave the dough balls to rise at room temperature for 60 minutes. At the same time, preheat your oven to maximum (250°C) with a baking steel or stone on the top rack — it needs at least 45 minutes to get fully hot. The dough and oven will be ready at the same time.
Press each ball by hand from the centre outward, pushing air into the rim. Do not use a rolling pin. Transfer to a semola-dusted peel or the back of a baking sheet, add toppings, and slide onto the hot steel. Bake at 250°C for 8–10 minutes until the crust is golden and the base is crisp.