I want to make the best pizza dough, any tips?!
Answers: I decided on making pizza for dinner tonight. I want to make my own dough. Last time i made dough, it wasn't all that special. I have had homemade pizza dough before and it was awesome. Does anyone have any tips on how to make it the best?
You really shouldn't hurry a good pizza dough....
Pizza Dough
Dough Recipe
1 pound (or about 3 1/2 cups) high gluten flour
3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
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In a heavy-duty stand mixer (e.g., KitchenAid) fitted with dough hook, add the water, oil, yeast, salt, and sugar. Mix thoroughly until yeast has fully dissolved. Add flour and mix on low speed until all of the flour and water have mixed and a stiff dough ball forms, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stop mixing as soon as the dough ball forms as this type of dough should not be kneaded.
Place the dough ball into a large bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 24 hours in the refrigerator before using. Please note that I cannot over-emphasize the importance of a 24-hour rising time since it is absolutely essential for the dough to develop its signature texture and, more importantly, its unique flavor! Do not skip this step!
A simple bread-dough recipe has always worked wonderfully for me.
google it
http://www.theartisan.net/pizzabas.htm
try this link..better yet, go buy the raw pizza dough already made in the store.i use it all the time
3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 cups (or more) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation
Pour 3/4 cup warm water into small bowl; stir in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes.
Brush large bowl lightly with olive oil. Mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons oil; process until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface. KNEAD dough until smooth, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 1 minute. Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. PUNCH down dough. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. ROLL out dough according to recipe instructions. (Start in center of dough, working outward toward edges but not rolling over them.)
How to Make Pizza
This basic bread and pizza dough can be used for any empanada, pizzette , pizza, bread, and calzone recipes. For recipes calling for bread dough, just leave out the olive oil. For recipes calling for pizza dough, make sure to include the olive oil. To make dough in a mixer, see the Basic Bread and Pizza Dough in an Electric Mixer. The range of salt given is to your taste. This amount of dough will make five very thin 14-inch-diameter pizzas, the kind of pizza you are most likely to find in Italy.
One 1/4-ounce package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
3/4 to
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, to your taste
3 1/2 cups bread flour or all-purpose unbleached flour, sifted
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (only add if making pizza)
1. In a large metal mixing bowl, previously warmed under hot running water, then dried, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then add the salt and shake gently.
2. Add the flour and olive oil (only if you are making pizza) and mix until you can knead it with your hands. The dough should stick a little bit for the first few minutes but will then form itself into a ball with more kneading and folding. Once it is formed into a ball, dump it onto a lightly floured wooden surface and knead for exactly 12 minutes. If making bread, do not add flour or water, if needed, until at least the eighth minute of kneading.
3. Once the ball of dough is smooth, place it in a lightly floured or oiled bowl, cover with a clean dish towel, and let rise in a warm (80 degrees F) place, such as inside a turned-off oven, for 2 hours.
4. Punch down the dough after 1 hour, cover, and let rise another hour. For more flavor, let the rising process go on longer: cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight (this is called a cold rise), but let the dough return to room temperature before working it again. Now it is ready for making into a pizza. If you are making bread, go on to step 5, otherwise, use this dough for any recipe calling for Basic Bread and Pizza Dough.
5. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Transfer the dough to a baking stone, form into the shape you wish, and score with a razor blade or very sharp knife. Place a pan of water in the bottom of the oven, then the loaf on the baking stone on the center rack. If you have another baking stone or baking tiles, you can line some in the oven for better tasting and textured bread. Reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and bake until golden brown on top, about 40 minutes, spraying it with water at first. Let cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Variation : Use 6 tablespoons milk and 3/4 cup water instead of 1 cup water for a richer flavor.
Makes 2 thin-crust 16-inch pizzas, 5 very thin 14-inch pizzas, or 4 slightly thick 12-inch pizzas, 10 pizzette , ten 4-inch empanada or calzone disks, or 1 large round loaf bread
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Basic Bread and Pizza Dough in an Electric Mixer
Read the instructions to your mixer. This recipe was tested on a KitchenAid mixer.
One 1/4-ounce package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
3/4 to
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, to your taste
3 1/2 cups bread flour or all-purpose unbleached flour, sifted
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (only add if making pizza)
1. In a large metal mixing bowl, previously warmed under hot running water, then dried, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then add the salt and shake gently.
2. Add 2 1/2 cups of the flour and the olive oil (only if you are making pizza dough) and attach to the mixer affixed with the dough hook. Run according to the directions of the manufacturer, about 2 minutes, adding the remaining flour in 1/2-cup increments. Let the mixer run until the dough is pulled off the walls of the bowl and is being pushed by the dough hook.
3. Once the ball of dough is smooth, remove the mixer bowl and remove the dough from the bowl. Place it in a lightly floured or oiled bowl, cover with a clean dish towel, and let rise in a warm (80 degrees F) place, such as inside a turned-off oven, for 2 hours. Proceed as the recipe instructs.
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Secrets of Baking Pizza
There are many different ways you can make pizzas, beyond the topping. They can be cooked at temperatures ranging from 350 degrees F in a home oven to 900 degrees F in a commercial wood-burning brick pizza oven. High heat gives the best results. I tend to make pizzas in three different ways. Sometimes I make pizza on a large 16-inch pizza pan, either solid or perforated, or directly on a baking stone. The dough is about a third of an inch thick, and I bake it at either 555 degrees F for just a few minutes or at 450 degrees F for a little longer. Or I make a thinner pizza, about 1/8 inch thick, which I cook for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees F. Best thing is to experiment, but without a doubt your pizza will taste better if you are using baking stones, preferably 2, one on the rack above the pizza and one either directly under the pizza dough or on the rack under the pizza.
Just follow this recipe. Bake on a stone in 500oF oven for aoubt 8 minutes after topping raw dough w/ sauce/toppings.
PIZZA DOUGH
1 (1/4-oz) package instant dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 1/4 to 2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading and dredging
1 cup warm water (105 - 115°F)
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
Whisk together yeast, 1 tablespoon flour, and 1/4 cup warm water in a measuring cup and let stand until mixture develops a creamy foam, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)
Stir together salt and 1 1/2 cups flour in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture and remaining 3/4 cup warm water and stir until smooth, then stir in another 1/2 cup flour. If dough sticks to your fingers, stir in just enough flour (up to 3/4 cup), a little at a time, to make dough just come away from side of bowl. (This dough may be wetter than other pizza doughs you have made.)
Knead dough on a lightly floured surface with floured hands, lightly reflouring work surface and your hands when dough becomes too sticky, until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic, about 10 minutes. Divide dough in half and form into 2 balls, then generously dust balls all over with flour, cover with bowls or dish towel and let rest 10 minutes. Shape into pizzas, prebake 5-7 minutes at 400oF.
Dough can be allowed to rise slowly, covered, in the refrigerator for 1 day. Bring to room temperature before using.
Makes 2 (10-inch) pizzas.