What is in pizza dough?
Four things: flour, water, yeast and salt. That is all a classic pizza dough needs, so there are no raw eggs and no milk in it.
You can add other ingredients for taste if you like, and some recipes do. Most of us do not.
Why would you use eggs in pizza dough?
Eggs add structure, which makes the dough firmer and less likely to collapse under heavy toppings. They also make the dough softer and fluffier: the more eggs you add, the softer the dough becomes. And they add flavour and a deeper colour to the crust.
Olive oil does some of the same work. It makes the dough softer and helps it brown evenly in the oven.
Why would you add milk to pizza dough?
Milk is common in bread recipes, such as milk bread or brioche, but less common in pizza dough. You can make pizza dough with milk; most recipes simply do not.
Milk contains milk sugars. They caramelise while the pizza bakes and give the crust a nice brown colour. Milk also gives the dough a fuller, richer flavour.
Trying milk? Take it out of the fridge in time. Cold milk slows down the rising of the dough considerably.
Do pizza chains use milk in their dough?
Some do, often as milk powder in pan-style dough. If you need to avoid eggs or milk, check the allergen information of the restaurant or the packaging of a ready-made dough.
What dough do we use?
A simple one, with just flour, water, yeast and salt. Often we make it with a poolish: a pre-ferment of flour, water and a little yeast that you make the day before. It is an extra step, but the pizza is so good that we keep going back to it.