Improve my pizza making?!
Improve my pizza making?
Alright, I have tried many recipe's and all seem to end in the same disaster. I go through the dough making using the yeast and all of that. Go through about three ours of letting it sit, then punching it, and letting it sit some more. After that I roll it out, fold the ends, add the sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Then bake it. The problem is, that the dough is always, gross. The flavor is fine, but it is really dense and not thoroughly cooked. What are some things I should try, or even some recipe's. I was thinking maybe a lower temp, thinner crust, but nothing works. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Answers: This is my new favourite recipe for pizza dough; it's so easy and works so well. I was watching a recent episode ("Pizza Party") of his show and went to the web as soon as it was over to get the recipe. Here it is, but the instructions are different than what you'll find on the web as I use my heavy-duty mixer rather than make this by hand. Enjoy!
Emeril Lagasse's Perfect Pizza Dough
4 servings 2? hours 2 hours prep
Change to: servings US Metric
1 cup warm water (110F)
1 (1/4 ounce) envelope active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
In the bowl of your heavy-duty mixer (like a Kenwood or KitchenAid), stir together the water, yeast and sugar; let sit until the mixture is foamy, which takes about 5 minutes.
Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the oil and salt into the yeast mixture and, using the paddle attachment (also known as the K beater), combine until mixture is smooth.
Switch to the dough hook.
With the machine running at low, add remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time; make sure each addition of flour is incorporated before adding the next.
Once all the flour has been added, turn up the speed and let the machine knead the dough for about 3 minutes; it should be very smooth and perhaps a bit tacky.
Feel free to add an extra minute or two of kneading if you wish; it won't hurt the dough at all.
Rub the insides of a large mixing bowl with a little olive oil; remove dough from machine, form into a ball, and place into oiled bowl, turning dough over to make sure all sides are oiled.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area to rise; the dough should nearly double in size, which will take about 60 to 90 minutes.
An old habit of mine is to place a towel around the bowl, just to make sure no drafts get to the dough.
When dough is ready, lightly punch it down and knead it a bit, still right in the bowl.
Lightly flour your work surface and place dough ball on it; let it rest for 10 minutes.
This makes one large pizza; if you prefer two smaller pizzas, cut dough in half, then form into two balls and let rest, as above.
After dough has rested, form into a 16-inch round (or two 8-inch rounds) and you're ready to make pizza, using your favourite toppings.
The biggest trick here, when stretching out the dough, is not to get frustrated; if you find you're stretching the pizza and it's resisting and is too elastic, bouncing right back from each stretch, just walk away for a few minutes; after you let the pizza rest again, you'll find the dough will let you stretch it out.
You might even want to try flipping it into the air a bit!
Warning: let it come down on your knuckles, not your fingertips, or you'll tear the dough!
The best way to bake your prepared pizza is on a baking stone (or you can use a pizza pan, if you don't have a stone) on your lowest oven rack; Emeril suggests 8 to 10 minutes at 475F, but a little lower temperature for a little longer works just fine too. ease your mind and buy the crust . . . in the refrigerated section - it comes in a bag and just looks like raw dough. spend your time on thinking about toppings, cutting up veggies and mets, etc instead! yeah i agree with the first person....just buy the dough...i always get it in the refrigerated section and just shape it myself...takes like a minute to do
I always get compliments on the pizzas I make....experiment more with the toppings.....I wouldn't waste time on the dough. Try things like buffalo chicken on it...and no one will even notice the dough. 1) Preheat the oven & the pizza pan OR pre-bake the crust a bit before adding the sauce & toppings.
2) Do not add too much sauce or lots juicy toppings like mushrooms. If you like lots of veggies on your pizza, saute them first & drain off the liquid. Excess moisture keeps the crust soggy. Or slice the veggies very thinly so they cook quickly.
3) Make sure the dough is stretched out; not just rolled out. The dough must be stretched so it doesn't contract. How to handle pizza dough: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/lf_kids/... This recipe shows you the technique to actually preparing the dough and putting the sauce on i let the dough rest for awhile before i attempt to roll it out or free form it. That helps get the dough an even texture so it bakes all the way through. The pizza stone also helps it cook evenly and gives it a crispier crust.
Pizza Marinara
Ingredients:
1 garlic clove
all-purpose flour for dusting
Pizza Dough for one 9-inch pizza
1/2 cup Pizza Sauce
a pinch dried oregano, crumbled
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Preparation:
At least 45 minutes before baking pizza, put a pizza stone or 4 to 6 unglazed "quarry" tiles arranged close together on oven rack in lowest position in oven and preheat oven to highest setting (500°F-550°F).
Thinly slice garlic. On a lightly floured surface pat out dough evenly with your fingers, keeping hands flat and lifting and turning dough over several times, into a 9-inch round. (Do not handle dough more than necessary. If dough is sticky, dust it lightly with flour.)
Dust a baker's peel or rimless baking sheet with flour and carefully transfer dough to it. Jerk peel or baking sheet once or twice and, if dough is sticking, lift dough and sprinkle flour underneath it, reshaping dough if necessary. Working quickly, top dough with sauce, spreading with back of a spoon to within 1/2 inch of edge. Scatter garlic and oregano over sauce and drizzle with oil.
Line up far edge of peel or baking sheet with far edge of stone or tiles and tilt peel or baking sheet, jerking it gently to start pizza moving. Once edge of pizza touches stone or tiles, carefully pull back peel or baking sheet, completely transferring pizza to stone or tiles (do not move pizza). Bake pizza 6 to 7 minutes, or until dough is crisp and browned, and transfer with a metal spatula to a cutting board.
Cut pizza into wedges and serve immediately.
hope this helps. good luck. Watching a TV program on it may help u a lot.