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Discuss Pizza Dough

This is the one I use. Kinda took the best of the many recipes I've tried and it evolved to this. The key, for me anyway, is to have at least a 50% hydration dough. You want a fairly wet dough for easier working and so that it sort of steams itself like a baguette, giving you the crisp, chewy texture. The bread flour plus the wheat gluten just adds to the chewiness and refines the overall texture.

2 cups bread flour plus more for kneading
1 cup WARM (100˚-110˚) water
2 tsp active dry yeast
2TB olive oil
1TB Vital Wheat gluten with vitamin C
2 tsp sugar
1tsp salt.
Optional: 2TB Italian seasoning.

1. Mix the water and yeast and let sit for 10 minutes or until foamy on top.
2. Add 1 cup of flour. Mix until the consistency of thick pancake batter, cover loosely and allow to sit on the counter in a warm kitchen overnight.**
3. The next day it will be bubbly and have a slight sourdough aroma. Mix the remaining ingredients and knead until the dough is elastic and passes the windowpane test. Be careful to not knead in too much additional flour, as this will make the dough tough. You want it just barely sticky.
4. Place in a greased bowl, lightly cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours or until doubled in bulk.
5. Turn out onto a lightly floured board or counter, punch down and form into pizzas. This recipe should make 2 10" pies.
6. Bake in a 450˚ oven on a cookie sheet or the bottom of an overturned cast iron skillet for 15-20 minutes## or until toppings are done and crust is golden brown.
7. Enjoy!

**If you're pressed for time, you can mix everything and skip the overnight wait. It will still be delicious, it just wont' have the sourdough twang and won't be quite as chewy.
## The timing is variable depending on the thickness of the crust, the toppings, your oven, what you're cooking etc... Use your eyes and nose.
 
For a great basic baking tutorial I can't recommend the book Ratio by Michael Rhulman highly enough. Lots of great info on how to take a basic ratio of ingredients and adjust it for almost endless uses including taking a basic bread ratio of 5 parts flour: 3 parts liquid and adjusting it slightly by swapping out a little water with a little olive oil and turning it into a great pizza dough.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363974359&sr=8-1&keywords=Ratio"]Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking: Michael Ruhlman: 9781416571728: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
 
Hey Bull

My $0.02:

I think pizza making should be relatively easy and more nutritional.

Like others, I usually use the "no knead" (a.k.a. Mark Bittman) method for making dough (letting it sit at room temperature overnight). Then I just pull it out into a more or less round shape on a greased cookie sheet. Then onto a hot grill without a pan, stone or anything then turn it over after a minute then add remaining topping ingredients (while on the grill).

A food processor can also make good/easy pizza dough more quickly as can a stand mixer.

The main criteria, like others have already mentioned, is defining what you want in a crust.

I like mine relatively thin but substantial in nutrients and crusty. For me, nothing beats Indian "atta" flour. The bad thing is you got to find an Indian grocery store to purchase it. Look for atta that is 100% whole wheat durum. It's cheap (like $1/pound) and highly nutritional. Probably the best choice for diabetics too (like me).

The only thing better than atta is grinding your own. Which is what I'm just learning to do.

Mark
 
Pizzamaking.com They are to Pizza, what bbq brethren is to bbq :wink:

Great site. A friend here gave me that link years ago when we were both obsessed with making the perfect pizza. When I read about people disabling the safety devices on their oven to cook at high temps I was hooked!:laugh:
 
Maybe this isnt the answer you are looking for but ---------- We have always used frozen bread dough. Easy to use, great taste, and minimum clean up.
 
Hey Bull

My $0.02:

I think pizza making should be relatively easy and more nutritional.

Like others, I usually use the "no knead" (a.k.a. Mark Bittman) method for making dough (letting it sit at room temperature overnight). Then I just pull it out into a more or less round shape on a greased cookie sheet. Then onto a hot grill without a pan, stone or anything then turn it over after a minute then add remaining topping ingredients (while on the grill).

A food processor can also make good/easy pizza dough more quickly as can a stand mixer.

The main criteria, like others have already mentioned, is defining what you want in a crust.

I like mine relatively thin but substantial in nutrients and crusty. For me, nothing beats Indian "atta" flour. The bad thing is you got to find an Indian grocery store to purchase it. Look for atta that is 100% whole wheat durum. It's cheap (like $1/pound) and highly nutritional. Probably the best choice for diabetics too (like me).

The only thing better than atta is grinding your own. Which is what I'm just learning to do.

Mark
Excellent post Mark.
One reason Atta flour is so good is the dryness of the agricultural product, so I recommend Aussie flour if it is available as man it is good for pizza.
Also as a point of interest, Bittman and Lahey are riding the "no knead" fashion and I love their work but no knead as a method is ancient, and was also highly fashionable some 60 years ago.
It develops great flavor, but profit margins and storage issues and technology to speed things along in the business keep seeing it sidelined.
At home, it is absolutely the way to go for us!
:thumb:
 
Thanks for posting this.
I thought it was an updated recipe from Lahey so I tried it.
I think it may be a interweb thing where he is credited but it isn't his, but the original recipe I use by Jim is far better than this one.
The recipe in my thread link on page one.
HTH & YMMV
 
A general question on this whole topic, I bought a huge block of yeast at a local grocery store, how do you store it once you open the vacuum sealed package ?? It is Red Star yeast and 1lb package. I'm wondering how Buccaneer's recipe will work out with plain old general purpose flour to practice making some pies without using the dopple 0 flour ??
 
A general question on this whole topic, I bought a huge block of yeast at a local grocery store, how do you store it once you open the vacuum sealed package ?? It is Red Star yeast and 1lb package. I'm wondering how Buccaneer's recipe will work out with plain old general purpose flour to practice making some pies without using the dopple 0 flour ??
If it is good quality bakers flour it will work out perfectly!
I'd still go for it anyway, great to practice and the results will be yummy, why not?

Ive never seen live yeast here, sorry, others will know.
 
cake yeast needs to be stored cold and should be carefully wrapped and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. I store it in the bottom shelf area. I wrap in waxed paper or parchment paper, then into a Tupperware or similar device.
 
I use AP flour and pastry flour for making bread, along with 00 and bread flour, it all works.
 
A pic of the pizza dough I make -
 

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I mixed up a batch of the Buccaneer recipe with cake flour for later today :). I grabbed a bottle of red star at the grocery store, better than the little packets :)
 
Did you get a good windowpane with the cake flour? I've tried to make one pizza with White Lily which is pretty much cake flour and it just never turned into pizza dough, wasn't strong enough and didn't have the high protein like bread flours do. Please post up your results, I may need to give the ole White Lily again.
 
This recipe rocks!!

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
Pizza31minuteaway_zps617c26f4.jpg

Buccaneer, this is awesome. I ha e tried a lot of recipes but this is not only easy but ready in 2 hours. The crust was crispy yet had a chew. I cooked mine on the egg. I will tell you don't go past 550 even with the diffuser and a stone. 700 was to hot.

Thanks again buccaneer!
 
A general question on this whole topic, I bought a huge block of yeast at a local grocery store, how do you store it once you open the vacuum sealed package ?? It is Red Star yeast and 1lb package. I'm wondering how Buccaneer's recipe will work out with plain old general purpose flour to practice making some pies without using the dopple 0 flour ??

mine was wrapped tightly in wax paper and in a ziplock in the fridge. they died after 3 weeks. i now have a new block frozen.
 
mine was wrapped tightly in wax paper and in a ziplock in the fridge. they died after 3 weeks. i now have a new block frozen.

Where are you guys getting these blocks of cake yeast? Is it the kind you crumble straight into the flour? All I can find is ADY and IDY and that just doesn't provide the same flavors I've read as fresh cake yeast does. I'd give a pretty penny to be able to find it in Alabama.
 
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