Forum: cooking.stackexchange.com
Tags: <pizza><yeast>
Title: Does pizza need yeast?
Question: I have been looking into some recipe without yeast. Jamie Oliver has a recipe in his 30 minute book that does not need yeast.  Will pizza have less crunch or flavour without yeast?

Answers:
sents: text: Many kinds of pizza base are made from a yeast-raised bread dough.
text: As with other breads (and beer, and wine, and cider etc.)
text: the yeast, while it feeds and gives off the gas that causes the dough to rise, produces other substances which contribute to the flavour.
text: So, a dough used as a pizza base which was not leavened with yeast isn't going to taste the same because it's not going to have these yeasty byproducts in it.
text: Texturally, it's also likely to be different.
text: One of the other things that happens while the yeast is working at making the dough rise, and during any kneading that is part of the process, is the formation of gluten, which is essential to the structure of many risen breads.
text: Anything else is unlikely to have the same behaviour.
text: Take for example soda bread, which, despite being made from wheat flour, is made in such a way as to minimise gluten development and thus has a very, very different texture to a yeasted loaf made from the exact same flour.
text: So, your non-yeast pizza recipe is likely to be quite different to yeast-risen pizza.
text: That doesn't necessarily mean it won't be nice, but you'll have to make it in order to find out.
text: I once made a pizza with a base made from scone dough, which has the advantage of being fast, as would a pizza based on a soda bread base.
text: Yeast takes a while to work, so there's no way you're going to get a good yeasty base inside 30 minutes.
text: It'd be hard to do it inside an hour.
text: My usual strategy involves a no-knead dough recipe set up the night before, so actual preparation of the pizza takes perhaps three quarters of an hour, with the yeast doing most of the work while I'm at work or asleep.
text: But I'm just airily speculating.
text: The only way to know for sure what this recipe is like is to make it and find out.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/539/Matthew Walton
score: 6
sents: text: Yes, it is possible to make a pizza without yeast but there is no guarantee how good it will be.
text: here i give you a recipe to make a pizza without yeast.
text: Ingredients : 2 c. flour1 tsp.
text: salt2 tsp.
text: baking powder2/3 c. water1/4 c. vegetable oil Mix flour, salt, baking powder and water.
text: Knead on floured counter just until workable and spreadable, about 2 minutes.
text: Put on pizza pan, with fingers spread vegetable oil on crust (helps so tomato sauce won't soak in crust) then put pizza sauce on, next put on toppings.
text: Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.
text: Try above recipe to make a yeast free pizza.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/19434/jenny
score: 2
sents: text: I just tried it, and I found it is somewhere between a buttery biscuit and a cracker... and it can work.
text: It does not have a developed yeasty taste, nor is there any chewy pull, but it can be a basic base for good toppings.
text: It will be like a pliable biscuit if barely browned, or a nice crunchy thick cracker if darkened well on the bottom.
text: Use good toppings and some salt and I would not be too embarrassed to feed it to some friends.
text: You won't bee selling it on the street, but when you are out of time or yeast, this can work.
text: So expect and accept a basic blander tasting pizza crust
text: and you might not be too disappointed.
text: I used about:1/2 cup all purpose1/2 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp salt (or more to pull out what little flavor is in flour)1/2 tbs melted buttersplash olive oil1/8 milk (plus however much more needed to make dough consistency.)
text: Mixed all these, kneaded for about 5 min, let rest for 5 min or more, roll out with rolling pin
text: , par bake around 450 on bottom rack on cookie sheet till it starts to develop brown on top, then add your sauce and toppings as desired.
text: This made a small single serving.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/53480/user53480
score: 2
sents: text: While not a direct answer to your question, you can make a good pizza dough without commercial A good alternative is to utilize a Sourdough Starter which uses the wild yeast in the air to leaven the dough.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/52528/Caleb
score: 2
sents: text: I have made many pizzas without yeast because it was not available?plain flour, 2 table-spoons of margarine, pinch of salt, 1 cup of milk.
text: 1-preheat
text: the oven first, in bowl put 2 cups of plain flour, add butter.
text: use your hand to mix.
text: 2-add
text: salt and cup of milk and mix with hands.
text: the mixture is sticky now.
text: (If you want you can add teaspoon of herbs or Italian herbs in the dough.)
text: 3-dust
text: the kitchen bench with flour and put the sticky mixture in the centre.
text: knell the dough slowly until the mixture is not sticky and ready for the rolling pin.
text: roll the dough out to the size you want on pizza tray.
text: 4-place
text: the dough on the pizza tray and place in the oven at high heat for 5 mins.
text: While the pizza base is being treated, you can cut up the ingredients for the pizza.
text: 5-Use gloves, get the hot pizza tray and squeeze BBQ sauce as the base sauce add 5 different types of meat:
text: I preferred cold cooked chicken, hot dogs, salami, sausages, ham.
text: sprinkle some cheese over the pizza then back in the oven.
text: 6-second pizza I often make is garlic pizza, mix 1/3 cup of garlic with 1/2 cup of margarine, very lightly with cheese.
text: strong but popular
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/28849/Micky
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
You can make it, but the texture and flavour will be quite different. If not using commercial yeast, sourdough is also an option for adding yeast to the dough.
There are many recipes for pissa without yeast and they may give good results but the pizza does not have the same taste and texture as dough using yeast. The only way to find out if a recipe is good is to try it.