Discuss Pizza Dough

bbqbull said:

We live in the country. We cannot get a pizza delivered here no matter how hard you try.
We drove 7 miles one way tonite for a pizza. 2 weeks ago the store owners daughter did an awesome job on the pie including double the sauce and cheese.
Tonite we got double screwed on our order.
Long story short we are done with take out pizza.
Problem here is finding the best take out pizza crust recipe.
We cannot buy commercial made pizza dough here as you can in the bigger cities.
I tired Alton Brown's recipe and that stuff is almost impossible to roll out. Almost like a rubber band. I am looking for something that is half way user friendly.
I will be using Phil Rizzardi's sauce that he taught me to make at the A. Royal 2 years ago.
He should open his own chain of pizza shops. The rest would go broke in no time flat!

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance on your advice.

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I hear you and understand your dilemma. Ck out this post.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=156183 You will never go back again!

Bull, my biggest problem with dough of any kind has always been the kneading. That and following instructions. And measuring. So, I have a new system that works pretty well.

It does require time however. What I do:

1. Get a plastic or glass tub, put two packets of dry yeast in. Then add 1 cup of warm water, 1 cup of flour and mix. Let sit over night in the fridge.

2. This can actually be kept as a starter, but, I don't. The next morning, I add in another cup of water, mixed with 2 cups of flour. Mix this all together and get on with your day, letting this sit in the fridge until an hour before you want dinner.

3. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead for 2 minutes, maximum. Roll into smooth balls and set aside. I like balls about fist sized, but, for larger pizzas, go grapefruit sized (I assume your fist in not the size of a grapefruit, I guess that is a bad assumption) 3" diameter for small pizza, 6" diameter for larger pizza.

4. You can roll, stretch or even toss this dough, it will be soft and easy to work. If it is elastic, you kneaded it too hard. Also, work it when it is room temperature for easier results.

It looks like this when ready:


It looks like this when cooked:

landarc said:

Bull, my biggest problem with dough of any kind has always been the kneading. That and following instructions. And measuring. So, I have a new system that works pretty well.

It does require time however. What I do:

1. Get a plastic or glass tub, put two packets of dry yeast in. Then add 1 cup of warm water, 1 cup of flour and mix. Let sit over night in the fridge.

2. This can actually be kept as a starter, but, I don't. The next morning, I add in another cup of water, mixed with 2 cups of flour. Mix this all together and get on with your day, letting this sit in the fridge until an hour before you want dinner.

3. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead for 2 minutes, maximum. Roll into smooth balls and set aside. I like balls about fist sized, but, for larger pizzas, go grapefruit sized (I assume your fist in not the size of a grapefruit, I guess that is a bad assumption) 3" diameter for small pizza, 6" diameter for larger pizza.

4. You can roll, stretch or even toss this dough, it will be soft and easy to work. If it is elastic, you kneaded it too hard. Also, work it when it is room temperature for easier results.

It looks like this when ready:

It looks like this when cooked:

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Well put! Your description of a Poolish in right on! Slow fermentation is like slow cookin ribs!

This is best homemade pizza dough I have had. I got the link here on BBQ-Brethren but don't remember who shared it. It is an exhaustive discussion of all things NY Style Pizza but well worth the time to read.

http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm

HeSmellsLikeSmoke said:

This is best homemade pizza dough I have had. I got the link here on BBQ-Brethren but don't remember who shared it. It is an exhaustive discussion of all thing NY Style Pizza but well worth the time to read.

http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm

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I can't get over that link. There's a ton of incredibly good information there. Thanks for taking the time to post it. :hug:

I haven't found a better recipe, for it uses the fermentation and needs no rolling or proving machines, not even a mixer and yet the base is exquisite.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=155967

Probably a thing to have asked first, what kind of pizza do you like, Mike :bow:

A lot about how you do the crust is going to come down to how you like your pizza. Personally, for me, I like a thin, soft center, light toppings and a crisp airy crust on the edges. I am not a dough guy and lots of toppings guy normally. However, if you like a soft dough, with lots of rise and a soft, almost white bread texture, that is a different dough altogether.

The Poobah is quite knowledgeable about pizza too. Maybe he will see this and pop in.

bbqbull said:

We live in the country. We cannot get a pizza delivered here no matter how hard you try.

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Ironically, I live in a big city, and the best pizza around here is from a one man hole in the wall out in the country. And he stopped delivering about 15 years ago.

As others have said, a slow fermentation is what makes great pizza crusts and promotes flavor and proper browning. I studied about bread a WHOLE lot before I got into smoking and grilling and learned that using very little yeast and letting it rise slowly is the secret to a dough that is easy to work with and has great flavor. I prefer leaner doughs, but they can be hard to get right and pretty difficult to produce consistent results.

I'm not sure what style pizza you like, whether it be New York, Chicago thin, bar pies, etc., but if you don't want to plan ahead for pizza crusts ever and want to be able to bake one in a few hours, this recipe here has given me good results when I haven't refrigerated the dough and just let it rise at room temp.

It isn't anywhere near as good as a slowly fermented New York style crust or even a Neapolitan style crust, but it is definitely tasty and has a fried greasier bottom than a drier New York style or neapolitan, almost like a very thin Pizza Hut pan pizza. It's very crispy for sure. The recipe is posted on the page at the top above the first picture of the pizza. It's a good article to read too.

Serious Eats: Bar Pies

Good luck though. Even a bad homemade pizza is edible, and usually much tastier than a frozen or chain-made pie.

http://www.food.com/recipe/super-crispy-thin-pizza-crust-290968 this is absolutely the best crispy recipe I've found to date.

I forgot the add that weighing your flour is a whole lot better than cup measurements. It's shocking to see how much variation you can get in how much flour you add to a dough just based on how you scoop it from the bag. Unless your good at feeling a dough out for consistency and hydration, I'd definitely look into scales. They are priceless for a whole lot more than breads and pizzas too.

Check out the book "Artisan Bread In Five Minutes a Day." It has several easy recipes that can be used for pizza. The other nice thing about all the doughs in this book is that they can be stored in the fridge for up to 12 days.

Thanks for starting this thread. So many great tips and recipes.

I have had fairly good results with Alton Brown's recipe, but it took a couple of times to get it right. If you find that the dough keeps springing back, try using more flour on the board. With a little patience you should be able to roll them quite thin.

caliking said:

Thanks for starting this thread. So many great tips and recipes.

I have had fairly good results with Alton Brown's recipe, but it took a couple of times to get it right. If you find that the dough keeps springing back, try using more flour on the board. With a little patience you should be able to roll them quite thin.

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If you have a good bit of trouble with spring back giving it a 10 min rest and then coming back would let the dough relax a bit and it would be a lot easier to roll out. I toss my crusts, but the principal is the same for rolling or hand tossed.

I've had issues using a good bit of flour on the board before, I was getting raw flour on the bottom and crust which didn't taste all that great or look all that nice on a finished pie. I started using semolina flour to keep it from sticking to my hands or counter and it works great. Doesn't burn like cornmeal would and is a good bit finer. Great flavor too.

This is one I found quite nice. Better than any store bought frozen base. I'm thinking of using this for my pizza place.
Source: http://afancifultwist.typepad.com/a_fanciful_twist/2013/01/homemade-pizza-dough.html

Pizza Dough**

Ingredients:

*3*cups flour

1 1/4 cups warm/hot water

1* tablespoon olive oil

1* package Rapid Rise yeast**(about 2 teaspoons)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

*(1 extra cup of flour for dusting and rolling our dough*etc.)

*

What to do?*

Before you begin tip:* run your bowl upside down under hot water - to get it warm.

*Put warm/hot water in bowl.

Sprinkle in 1 package of rapid rise yeast.

Sprinkle in sugar.

Set mixture aside for 2 minutes.

*Put in olive oil and salt.

*Mix with a warm or wooden spoon gently.

*Slowly stir in your flour.

*As you put in your last cup of flour, use your hands to mix dough gently in the bowl*- don't knead too much, just enough to incorporate ingredients.* Keep your dough in the bowl the whole time.

*Once all ingredients are fully incorporated, form your dough into a ball, and leave in bowl.

*Put a damp cloth over your bowl, and place your bowl in a very warm place for 30-45 mins.

*Once dough doubles, gently punch the dough down.

*Keep an extra bit of flour handy, you might need some here, as dough might be sticky after rising.

*Take dough out of bowl and place on flour dusted counter.

*Knead a little bit.* (I don't knead much at all, as the dough is pretty easy to get smooth)

*Just enough to smooth it out, and either separate into two balls for 2 medium pizzas, or make on huge pizza.

*Use extra flour for dusting counter*to roll out your dough, or if dough is a little too sticky.

*Once rolled out....

*Lightly dust your pizza baking sheet (or cookie sheet) with flour (you can use cornmeal, I personally like to dust with flour), then put your*dough on your sheet and pinch corners around.

*Now, let pizza dough*sit for 5 - 10mins.* (it will plump up a little more)

*(I use this time to get my toppings ready)

*

Then top as you wish, and bake in a 400' oven for 30 mins.*

(my mom's oven takes 45 mins - 1 hour)

*Judge it being ready when your cheese, toppings and/or crust edge have browned to your liking.

*

Tips:

You can use this recipe with any flour you wish.

I have made oatmeal flour before, and used the same recipe.* It worked out wonderfully.

Also, you can also use this dough for focaccia.

Make cheeseless, sauceless, or any kind of pizza you wish.

Remember, the more raw veggies you use, the more cook time, as they add lots of moisture.

I like to season my veggies a little before topping the pizza.

*

This is a wonderful base dough.*

The sky is the limit!* Enjoy

Try this one. Very great results. I'm going to be using this recipe in my pizza place. http://afancifultwist.typepad.com/a_fanciful_twist/2013/01/homemade-pizza-dough.html