Here's what I've come up with after about a year of experimenting (and a
large number of bad pizzas!)
Steve's Pizza Dough (with secret ingredient)
3 Cups flour.
1 1/3 Cups water (warm, for the yeast)
1 package quick-rising yeast.
Salt (approx. 1/2 tsp)
Sugar (approx. 1/2 tsp)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (approx 1 1/2 tbsp)
....and the secret ingredient is:
Grated Parmesan Cheese (approx 1/4 C)
Now, I'm not one to go with exact measurements unless I have to, so
here's my best (and first) attempt to describe the amounts used in this
recipe:
Mix yeast with warm water, in seperate measuring cup, not in the
mixing bowl. You want to do this first so that the yeast has time to
"get going" before you add it to the rest of the ingredients.
Put flour, sugar, salt, cheese, and oil in bowl. There's no need to
stir yet.
Get yourself ready to mix, then add water and yeast to bowl. As
soon as you add the water you want to try to get it well mixed as
quickly as possible. Mix until all ingredients are blended. When
ingredients are mixed, dough should be sticky to the touch, but not to
runny. I then "cut" the dough at least a dozen times, with my mixing
spoon. This is (I think) what takes the place of kneading the dough.
Let dough rise for 30-45 minutes. Rember that it needs to be both
warm and moist to rise. What I usually do is turn the oven on bake for
about 3-4 minutes (any temperature will do) then turn it OFF, open the
door for a few seconds (to let it cool down slightly) then cover the
bowl with a wet towel, and place in the oven, door closed.
After this first rising period, you should take the dough out,
lightly sprinkle it with flour to keep it from sticking to your hands,
and "punch" the dough down. This amounts to just pressing it a little
bit all around. Don't remove from bowl.
Let rise (same conditions) for another 20-35 minutes. Total rising
time should be between 45 minutes and just over an hour. It's my
opinion that the longer you let the dough rise, the better taste it will
have, but I've let it rise for only 45 minutes and had it come out just
fine. This is usually done with a 30/15 minute split between the two
rising periods.
Now, grease your pizza pan using a small amount of olive oil or oil
spray and put the dough on the pan. Dust dough with flour again (to
keep it from sticking to your hands -- as needed while rolling) and
spread it onto the pan. As long as you grease the pan, spreading the
dough should be easy. It will be pretty thin all around. (I use a
12x24 (?) rectangular pan -- I think that two 12" rounds will work too,
but have never tried it)
Baking times are usually about 10-12 minutes in a 450 degree oven,
on the middle rack. It should be obvious when the pizza is done, by the
look of the crust (turning light brown) and the look of the cheeze (just
getting those brown cooked spots on it)
Suggested toppings:
Motzerella and pepperoni with pizza sauce.
Thinly sliced tomatoes, cheddar, onion, with a garlic & olive oil sauce.
Fresh mushrooms, motzerella, and cooked sausage, pizza sauce.
Pizza secrets:
What about thick crust pizza? Well, I'm not really fond of thick
crust pizza, but from my experience, this is what I'd have to say: Use
this recipe on a smaller pan. Use more pizza sauce, or a pizza sauce
with more water. This will cause the top layer of the dough to cook
less than the layer touching the pan. Cook at a lower temperature, with
the pizza pan on a lower rack of the oven. All of these things will
make your pizza more dough-ey. Experiment at your own risk!
What about even crispier crust? Use a little bit less water (but
still more than 1 Cup water) in the recipe. This will give you a drier
dough. Cook the pizza on a lower rack in the oven. Experiment at your
own risk!
When rising the dough, make sure that you use a cloth towel, not a
paper towel. Paper towels just don't hold enough water to stand up to
the dryness of the oven.
If you have any great (or terrible) pizza experiences, I'd like to know
about it! Send me some e-mail: sl31@andrew.cmu.edu
Steve Lacy
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