Pizza Crust recipe

[Alacrity59]

I run some warm water . . . 110 F into a two cup measuring cup . . . half full. Stir in 1 tbsp of yeast and 1 tbsp of white sugar. I buy my yeast in vacuum packs that look like about a lb of butter. I open them up at home and put into a container in the freezer. I let the yeast do its thing for a bit then in about 20 minutes I put about 5 cups of flour (all purpose unbleached) into a bowl and throw in the liquid and add about another cup of warm water. I then proceed to mix and then dump it onto the counter to kneed for about 10 minutes. I oil a bowl and put the dough into it and cover with a dish towel and place into an over the stove microwave with the lights on underneath . . . I DON'T RUN THE MICROWAVE. . . the lights underneath warm it up so my dough rises quicker. In about 45 minutes I can make pizza . . . It really does taste better the next day. . . .

For me 5 cups of flour makes 3 pizzas . . . but the third pizza the fermentation is starting to happen. . . whole different taste than the day one pizza.

Mike

 

[BurkDarkpatches]

I use the technique in Varasano's post (attached above). I use 60-65% hydration, with regular or Caputo 00 flour.

I try to make my dough a day ahead and let the flavors develop in the refrigerator.

This bears repeating. Proofing the dough overnight improves most any pizza.

Steve

Edit: Alacrity59, I see you hammered this point home, too. I missed it somehow. Excellent post.

 

[AlanL]

3-1/3 c flour
3 tsp instant yeast*
1½ tsp salt
1½ tsp sugar
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 cup + 2 tbsp warm water (9 oz.)

Mix together and knead a little while (or bread machine on dough cycle).
Let rise in warm location 45-60 minutes.
You're good to go.

*Instant yeast doesn't need proofing. Don't confuse it with rapid or active dry yeast.

 

[duotone]

This bears repeating. Proofing the dough overnight improves most any pizza.

Steve

Edit: Alacrity59, I see you hammered this point home, too. I missed it somehow. Excellent post.

Appreciate that article link, Cheers!

 

[Pete_T]

I'm no dough miester or anything, but my pizza crust usually turns out pretty well. A few things I do-- try to give the dough time to proof in the fridge for a couple days. This is supposed to help develop gluten, and it ferments some and adds flavor, kind of like a sourdough. Before making the pizza I roll the dough out in the pizza shape and let it rest for 15 min. Then I put the dough in the oven without toppings for about 8-10 minutes, then pull it out to put on toppings, then put it back in the oven. This helps to dry the crust out and reduces the chances of it getting soggy. Kind of a sloppy technique, I admit, but it seems to work pretty well.

 

[Alacrity59]

Good point . . . soggy is a bad place to go. A real thin coating of olive oil helps but being conscious of how wet your toppings are is also important. If I'm using fresh tomatoes . . . I slice thin and place on paper towel for a bit to soak up some moisture. My pepper and mushroom slices have become thinner as they will give up moisture as well. (not that I'm 100% right . . . just how I've done it evolved)

 

[Pete_T]

I like that olive oil idea.

I actually made some enchiladas according to a test kitchen recipe recently, and they said to spray oil the tortillas, bake for a few minutes, then stuff. The oil was to help prevent soggy tortillas. It seemed to work pretty well. Im thinking just wiping on some olive oil and briefly baking the untopped pizza would have the same effect on the center of the pizza dough. I'll have to try that next time I make pizza.

 

[BurkDarkpatches]

Good point . . . soggy is a bad place to go. A real thin coating of olive oil helps but being conscious of how wet your toppings are is also important. If I'm using fresh tomatoes . . . I slice thin and place on paper towel for a bit to soak up some moisture. My pepper and mushroom slices have become thinner as they will give up moisture as well. (not that I'm 100% right . . . just how I've done it evolved)

Fresh veggies caused issues with my deep dish pizzas. I make them with the cheese on the bottom, toppings, then sauce (as some pizzerias do in Chicago). But even though they're near the top where I'd hope their fluid would evaporate, it still ends up a pretty juicy pizza. Everyone still loves the pizza, so I think I'm the only one that's bothered by the minor soggyness (not so bad after letting the pizza rest out of the oven).

My fix for this is to briefly saute stuff like mushrooms, peppers and onions before adding to the pizza. The sauteed veggies have their own charm, but sometimes I'd like firmer veggies. I like the idea of slicing them thinner and will try that. Thanks!

I'm about to pop a 2-day proofed uber-thin crust in the oven. Very excited to try some of the techniques in this thread.

Steve

 

[duotone]

Trying to kick start a bit more cooking and effort from me in the New Year, so I started today with beginning my sourdough starter.

3 spoons of flour, poured some pineapple juice over the top and stirred it up. Hopefully in a few more days it will be ready to use.

What is the purpose of removing some on and adding more flour?

Just made some dough as well from Peter Reinhardts recipe, will let you know how it turns out when I cook it tomorrow.

 

[PedroNavaja]

What is the purpose of removing some on and adding more flour?

As you'll notice, sourdough starter increases in size with every feeding, to keep it to a manageable size you need to discard some.
I keep about 300 gr in a mason jar in the refrigerator.
Before baking, I take it out, feed it a couple of time to reactivate it, with a ratio of 1:1:1 (starter, water, flour) until I get the amount needed for the recipe + 300 gr that goes back in the refrigerator.

 

[duotone]

Cheers Pedro!

Made a pizza today and it turned out pretty well using Peter Reinhardts recipe. Got a really nice soft but thin dough in the centre that was great to eat. Will see how the other half turns out tomorrow.

 

[Alacrity59]

Cheers Pedro!

Made a pizza today and it turned out pretty well using Peter Reinhardts recipe. Got a really nice soft but thin dough in the centre that was great to eat. Will see how the other half turns out tomorrow.

The time in the refrigerator really does add flavour. The second one should be even better.

 

[duotone]

The time in the refrigerator really does add flavour. The second one should be even better.

Made the 2nd one about 5 hours ago. It WAS even better. There must be a limit how many days it will last before going hard though? Otherwise by this reckoning, 2 week old dough should taste amazing.

 

[Pete_T]

I think the yeast will die after a bit. The dough starts to smell fermented, which is good, but alcohol kills yeast, I believe. Or maybe it starves. But feel free to try it, I could be completely wrong, and it would be an interesting experiment.

 

[Alacrity59]

It gets real boozy after a while. I think I'd limit things to a week. I've had bits of dough go dry . . . and cut off the dry bits and it was still good. I'd say let your eyes and nose be your guide.

 

[duotone]

Made this pizza today and it turned out great.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/f...uashed-cherries-vanilla-mascarpone-cream.html

Even with cheap self raising flour and just some tepid water. Next time I will throw some sourdough in as well and see what effect that has.

I think the cooking in the pan, then finishing off under the grill was the secret. Pan crisped the pizza base up while 8 or so minutes under the grill cooked the crust & melted the cheese wonderfully.

Would LOVE one of these! http://www.jamieoliver.com/wood-fired-ovens/

 

[littleton82]

Does anyone know where to get "00" flour in the US? I know that's what my crust is lacking sadly......Best pizza I ever had was when I was stationed in Germany. Some Italian immigrants opened a restaurant up the road from my house and the food was heavenly....towards the end of my stay there we ate at the place like 3 times a week....not even joking! So if anyone is ever in Mannheim Germany be sure to stop in at Mama Lucia's.....you won't be disappointed!

 

[duotone]

http://www.fornobravo.com/brick_oven_cooking/pizza_ingredients/flour.html

Bit more info on varieties of Tipo 00 flour.