For years, I’ve occasionally experimented with creating a dough that I could use for both pizza crust and bread, and I finally produced a formula that works wonderfully for both! As you’ll see in the formula below, there’s not much to it. But the kicker for me was using a much lower hydration than I’ve been experimenting with in the past.

My earlier experiments employed hydration 75% and above. I was also using a combination of high-gluten bread flour and AP flour, and sometimes mixed with some Kamut™️ flour. But yesterday afternoon, I thought about an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives where Guy Fieri visited this pizza place and the chef used AP flour only. That got me thinking that if I used just AP flour and lowered the hydration, I could still achieve decent gluten formation, and the small amount of olive oil would help to create a soft crumb if I used it for bread.

As far as bread is concerned, this dough produces a closed but airy crumb that is perfect for rolls, but placed in loaf pans, is perfect for sandwich loaves! For pizza, the lower hydration creates a nice, strong dough that can easily be spread out into a pizza crust. And here’s the kicker: The long, cold fermentation takes place during bulk fermentation. This means you can create the dough the day before, and let it sit in the fridge for 12-24 hours. If you’re making pizza, you can divide the dough immediately after kneading, then let it rise in the fridge. More details below. For now, here’s formula and the final dough to make 6 buns.

Formula

AP Flour	100.00%
Water	65.00%
Salt	2.00%
Yeast	0.60%
Olive Oil	1.30%

Final Dough

AP Flour	825g
Water (lukewarm)	536g
Salt	17g
Yeast	5g*
Olive Oil	11g
Total Yield	1394g 6 X 230g buns 12 X 115g rolls

I must come clean. I experimented with making longer buns as you can see in the pictures above. They turned out great, but they’re a little too heavy to be used for sandwich rolls. Based on those results, I’d lengthen them to make bread sticks for dipping. And if I’m going to use it for sandwiches, I’d definitely make loaves for loaf pans.

Process

Mix. Combine all the dry ingredients together. Then add the oil and water and mix thoroughly. Knead the dough until smooth (you can use a mixer or do it by hand).

Bulk Fermentation. If you’re making bread or rolls, place the dough into a container (I use a 6-liter Cambro container). If you’re making pizza dough, divide the dough into two or three equal pieces, depending on the crust size you want, form into balls, then place on a sheet and cover with plastic wrap. In either case, place the dough in your fridge with a temperature in the range of 39℉-42℉. Ferment for 12-16 hours. The dough may triple or quadruple in volume during this time. But it’ll be okay if it’s domed in the middle.

If you want to go for a long bulk fermentation, use half the yeast. With that amount, the dough should expand to its fullest in about 24 hours.

Divide and Shape. If you made pizza crusts, there’s no need to divide. Simply gently press out the balls to about 1cm-thick discs, then cover and set aside. For rolls, divide into twelve pieces, then form balls and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. For sandwich bread, divide into two equal portions, then form each into logs and place them into loaf pans. For breadsticks, form into long logs then set on a well-floured couche.

Final Fermentation. Let the dough proof for an hour at room temperature or until it doubles in volume.

Bake. For bread, lightly brush the tops of the loaves or rolls with a little water, then score if you want. Bake at 425℉ for 30 minutes. Use steam for the first 10-15 minutes of the bake to help rise. For pizza, shape, top, and bake as you normally would.