Sweet Potato Pizza Dough Recipe
This Neapolitan-style pizza dough gets its soft texture and beautiful golden hue from the addition of sweet potato, which naturally enhances moisture and fermentation. The subtle sugars help create a light, airy crumb and promote better browning in high-heat baking, while the sweet potato itself adds a boost of nutrients and fiber to the dough. The result is a blistered crust with a tender, chewy bite—an approachable, wholesome twist on classic Neapolitan pizza that’s as satisfying to make as it is to eat.
Ingredients (Makes 6x dough balls - each being 300 grams)
1000 grams Antimo Caputo Pizzeria 00 Flour (Blue)
620ml water
32 grams fine sea salt
20 grams Fleischmann's RapidRise instant yeast
400 grams mashed sweet potato (from 2x medium/large sweet potatoes)
1/8 tsp ground beetroot powder (optional - adds additional nutrition, flavor, and more vivid color)
1/4 tsp ground turmeric powder (optional - adds additional nutrition, flavor, and more vivid color)
Timing
If you want to make pizza in the evening, start making the dough the evening on the day before. This way the dough has time to bulk ferment in the refrigerator over night. In the morning you can pull the dough out, form into dough balls, and put back in the refrigerator until ready to use. You want to make sure to pull the dough balls back out of the refrigerator about 2 hours before making the pizza.
Directions
Heat the water until its between 100°F and 120°F (shoot for 110°F).
Whisk yeast into water and let stand while you weigh out your other ingredients and cook potato’s in next step.
Using a fork, poke a few holes in each sweet potato. Microwave both on high for 10 minutes (flipping them over half-way through).
Cut potatoes in half and scoop out potato flesh leaving the skins behind. Measure out 400 grams. Add beetroot and turmeric powder and mash into a paste with a fork or spoon. Tiny potato particles here and there are ok - it doesn’t have to be perfectly mashed.
Using a spoon or your hands, combine the pizza flour with the water/yeast mixture, mixing it just long enough so the dough comes together into a shaggy mass and there is no dry flour left.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 60 minutes.
Using a dough hook attachment on a Kitchen Aid mixer, start mixing the dough on low (#2), and sprinkle in the salt while it mixes.
Let the dough mix/knead for 4 minutes.
Turn off the mixer and let the dough rest for 4 minutes.
Turn the mixer back on low (#2) and mix for another 4 minutes.
Place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.
Place the bowl in the refrigerator and allow it to bulk ferment for 12-16 hours.
At this point its probably the next morning - pull the dough out of the refrigerator.
Divide the dough into 6 dough balls, each one being approximately 300 grams. Round the dough balls out, and place on a oiled sheet pan. Cover with plastic wrap.
Let the dough rest/proof at room temperature for up to 2 hours (or however long it takes for the dough to double in size).
Put back in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or as long as 24 hours. Slowing down the fermentation by all of the refrigeration will create a more complex flavor in the dough.
At this point its 1-2 hours before you are making pizza, so remove the dough balls from the refrigerator and allow to come up to room temperature.
Hand stretch the dough into 12” discs, add toppings, and bake in a high temperature oven.
Topping Ideas
Tomato Sauce - Canned, whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes. Lightly blend contents with immersion blender. Put a thin layer of this down as the pizza sauce.
Fresh mozzarella cheese - cut into thin slices then pull chunks apart over pizza
Fresh basil leaves
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese - finely grate over pizza before or after cooking (or both).
Extra virgin olive oil - drizzle over pizza before or after cooking (or both).
Caramelized onions - thinly sliced, sprinkled with a little salt, and cooked over medium/high heat for 30 - 60 minutes. Reduce heat to medium/low halfway through. Periodically deglaze the pan as soon as brown bits get stuck to pan by adding some water. Add a little brown sugar and balsamic vinegar towards the end.
Morel mushrooms - you can order these dried. Reconstitute with hot water, rinse, dry, then slice in half length wise.
Jalapeño peppers - thinly sliced
Arugula - put a bunch of leaves on top of the pizza after its done cooking and ready to serve. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and you can even try a little lemon juice.
Garlic - whole cloves shaved/thinly sliced
Pear - thinly sliced
Bacon - cooked and chopped into small pieces
Ground Italian sausage - hot, mild, sweet, etc. Pinch small chunks off and drop on top of pizza prior to cooking.
