Can Pour-in - the-Pan Pizza Dough Be Mixed by Hand

Question

Has anyone had success making Pour in the Pan Pizza without a mixer? Any tips? Thoughts?

Elizabeth Mindreau · Accepted Answer

Hello Rachel,
This is an extremely wet and sticky dough, which is why we make it in the mixer. Doing it by hand might be possible (it has not been tested here) but it would likely be quite strenuous. There is enough flour in this in the end to make it too thick for a whisk but yet it is too wet to properly fold the flour in with a spatula.
If you would like to give it a try it, we would recommend the following (again, this has not been tested):
After whisking the dry ingredients together (including the salt,) put about 1/3 of the dry mixture into a large bowl, add all of the water and whisk until combined and smooth. Continue adding the dry ingredients gradually and whisking thoroughly between additions until the mixture becomes too thick and sticky to work with the whisk. At that point, switch to a strong wooden spoon or silicone spatula and keep mixing and adding flour until it is all well incorporated with no pockets of dry flour. You would need to keep mixing until the dough is very elastic and sticky. It also does need to be transferred to another oiled bowl per the recipe at this point.
We cannot vouch for the results, as the mixer with the dough hook works the dough for a total of 10 minutes. Though it is a highly hydrated dough, the gluten still needs to be well-developed in order to give it good structure to rise. This is also why we opt for the mixer and dough hook.
Please let us know how it goes!
Best,
The Milk Street Team

Can Pour-in - the-Pan Pizza Dough Be Mixed by Hand

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