Hi guys,
Just wanted to post a quick note to let you know about this cool blog I just stumbled upon: The Christopher Kimball Blog. He writes directly to you from America’s Test Kitchen, which is super cool in and of itself, but his most recent post is about testing the different pizza stones available to us all. I’m going to subscribe and keep ya’ll up to date on any other pizza related research they put out, but I highly recommend checking out the whole blog. Good info!
I was very intrigued by the LONG mixing time for Sunset Magazine’s “Pizzetta 211” pizza dough, so I did some testing and here’s what I found so far (the dough is still rising, so not finished results yet) Following the instructions, I first bloomed the yeast. As a side note, many chefs today do not believe that this step is necessary any longer. It used to be that dried yeast came to us in such a poor state that it needed this short developmental period to reactivate (and so you could tell if you had just purchased dead yeast or not.) These days, it is perfectly safe to skip this step – especially when you are planning on a long, cool rise time. Anyways, I did it despite my modern learnin’. Then I started the mixer in to its half an hour long trek – stopping once to snap a photo at five minutes. As you can see below, the difference between 5 minutes of mixing and 30 was pretty dramatic. As the dough came out of the bowl after thirty minutes, it was very soft and very smooth. I placed it directly in the fridge where I plan to rest it for the afternoon before pulling it out, resting it on the counter for an hour or so, and then tossing it up.
After a few hours in the fridge, and then one more on the counter, the dough had risen substantially. What I had thought would make just one pizza turned out to be two sizable pies. The dough was extremely elastic and spread very evenly and nicely. I baked a pizza both on a baking stone as well as in my normal pan and each of them came out very nicely. Overall, I felt the recipe was a bit too salty, and the yeast was a bit too active if I wanted to give it a 3 day rest in the fridge. I am going to experiment with using less yeast and less salt and see if I can hone in on the flavor I prefer. As for texture, this was tried by my testing staff (alicia) and was deemed “the best crust yet” by a mouth that knows 
Once I get the salt/yeast thing figured out, and try it out with a nice long rest, this dough just replace Tony’s dough that I have sworn by for the better part of 2009.
I’ll keep you posted.
So it’s been a long while since I purchased flour, mainly because my last purchase was firect from Central Milling and in the form of two 50lb bags of flour! The other day, I finally cracked into my second 50lb bag and started thinking, what would my next order be? Since Central Milling has always been so good to me, I knew I would definitely stick with them, but as you read on further, you’ll see why I had a bit of trouble deciding. They offer SO many flours in SO many different grades and varieties, the choices are endless! I thought I would share the list with you – enjoy browsing and let me know if you have any questions. If you’d like to contact them with an Order, hit Nick up at ngiusto@centralmilling.com, he’ll get it right out to you.
Enjoy!
ORGANIC PRODUCTS
CERTIFIED ORGANIC UNBLEACHED FLOURS
CERTIFIED ORGANIC WHOLE WHEAT FLOURS
ORGANIC SPECIALTY FLOURS AND GRAINS
CONVENTIONAL PRODUCTS
CONVENTIONAL FLOURS
CONVENTIONAL WHOLE WHEAT FLOURS
CONVENTIONAL SPECIALTY FLOURS AND GRAINS
Sunset magazine recently had an article entitled Pizza Rises in the West in which they detailed some of the West Coast’s best pizza joints. This was a fun little little article, especially if you live within striking distance of the article’s epicenter, San Francisco. Anyways, they’ve also shared a dough/sauce recipe with us that, on it’s face, looks very plain, but has a few interesting twists that might just make you rethink your current dough techniques. Check out the type of flour and the mix time on that dough. That’s right, a full half an hour of stand mixing to develop the relatively weak gluten in the AP flour. My interest is peaked! Also, you can click here for the original recipe posting. Enjoy!
Time: 2 3/4 hours. The extended mixing time for the dough develops the gluten in the flour and produces a pizza crust with a nice stretchy texture around the rim. A pizza stone, available at cookware shops, creates the super-heated surface you need for a great crust. You can get decent results, though, with a preheated baking sheet instead.
Yield: Makes 4 pizzas (10 to 11 in. each; 32 slices)
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup room-temperature water and the yeast. Let stand 15 minutes at room temperature.
2. In bowl of a stand mixer using dough hook, mix 2 cups flour, 2 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. olive oil, and yeast mixture on medium speed until well incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and mix about 30 minutes, or until dough is very smooth and elastic.
3. Meanwhile, make tomato sauce: In a medium pot, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add garlic and swirl in hot oil until it starts to smell good, about 15 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and simmer, uncovered, to thicken and cook off the “canned” flavors, at least 25 minutes.
4. While sauce is cooking, put 1/4 cup olive oil and basil leaves in a food processor and whirl to finely chop basil, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Stir 1 tbsp. basil oil into tomato sauce as it’s cooking, along with 1 pinch salt. Pour remaining basil oil into a small bowl and cover surface with a thin layer of olive oil.
5. As soon as dough is ready, divide into 4 portions. Using both hands, roll each portion with a circular pressing motion until it becomes a tight ball. Dust each ball with flour, set it on a floured baking sheet, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let dough rise 1 hour, or until almost doubled in size (do not let rise longer than 1 hour).
6. Put a pizza stone or baking sheet on bottom shelf of oven and preheat to 550° (or as high as oven will go), at least 25 minutes. Working with 1 dough ball at a time, set on a well-floured pizza peel or baking sheet and stretch into a 10- to 11-in. circle. To stretch into a 10- to 11-in. circle, first tap down center of ball with your fingertips to gently deflate it. Next, push it outward from the center with your fingertips. Then pick up the dough circle and, holding it under the rim, turn it like a steering wheel, letting the gravity of the dough help it stretch. Drape the dough over the backs of your hands and gently stretch outward, rotating periodically. Flop the stretched dough down onto the pizza peel.
7. Spoon 3 to 4 tbsp. tomato sauce onto dough, leaving at least a 1/2-in. border.
8. Plant tip of pizza peel (or long edge of baking sheet) on pizza stone (or preheated sheet) and shove pizza quickly onto stone and bake 3 to 6 minutes, or until crust looks dryish but not browned. Remove pizza from oven and sprinkle on about 1/2 cup mozzarella cubes in clusters, then 1 generous pinch oregano. Return to oven and cook 2 to 5 minutes more, or until crust is golden brown and firm but not rock hard. Transfer pizza to a cutting board and drizzle with basil oil. Assemble and bake rest of pizzas the same way.
Make ahead: Dough can be formed into balls (step 5) and chilled overnight, tightly covered with plastic wrap, instead of rising on counter (it will rise slowly in the fridge). You can also freeze the dough for up to 2 weeks (let chilled or frozen dough come to room temperature before stretching).
Variation: Pizzetta 211 Pepperoni Pizza
Follow directions for Pizzetta 211 Margherita Pizza. In step 7, lay 8 or 9 slices Molinari Hot Salami or your favorite spicy salami over dough (you’ll need about 4 oz. for 4 pizzas). Bake as directed.
Sunset magazine recently had an article entitled Pizza Rises in the West in which they detailed some of the West Coast’s best pizza joints. This was a fun little little article, especially if you live within striking distance of the article’s epicenter, San Francisco. Anyways, they’ve also shared a dough/sauce recipe with us that, on it’s face, looks very plain, but has a few interesting twists that might just make you rethink your current dough techniques. Check out the type of flour and the mix time on that dough. That’s right, a full half an hour of stand mixing to develop the relatively weak gluten in the AP flour. My interest is peaked! Also, you can click here for the original recipe posting. Enjoy!
Time: 2 3/4 hours. The extended mixing time for the dough develops the gluten in the flour and produces a pizza crust with a nice stretchy texture around the rim. A pizza stone, available at cookware shops, creates the super-heated surface you need for a great crust. You can get decent results, though, with a preheated baking sheet instead.
Yield: Makes 4 pizzas (10 to 11 in. each; 32 slices)
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup room-temperature water and the yeast. Let stand 15 minutes at room temperature.
2. In bowl of a stand mixer using dough hook, mix 2 cups flour, 2 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. olive oil, and yeast mixture on medium speed until well incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and mix about 30 minutes, or until dough is very smooth and elastic.
3. Meanwhile, make tomato sauce: In a medium pot, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add garlic and swirl in hot oil until it starts to smell good, about 15 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and simmer, uncovered, to thicken and cook off the “canned” flavors, at least 25 minutes.
4. While sauce is cooking, put 1/4 cup olive oil and basil leaves in a food processor and whirl to finely chop basil, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Stir 1 tbsp. basil oil into tomato sauce as it’s cooking, along with 1 pinch salt. Pour remaining basil oil into a small bowl and cover surface with a thin layer of olive oil.
5. As soon as dough is ready, divide into 4 portions. Using both hands, roll each portion with a circular pressing motion until it becomes a tight ball. Dust each ball with flour, set it on a floured baking sheet, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let dough rise 1 hour, or until almost doubled in size (do not let rise longer than 1 hour).
6. Put a pizza stone or baking sheet on bottom shelf of oven and preheat to 550° (or as high as oven will go), at least 25 minutes. Working with 1 dough ball at a time, set on a well-floured pizza peel or baking sheet and stretch into a 10- to 11-in. circle. To stretch into a 10- to 11-in. circle, first tap down center of ball with your fingertips to gently deflate it. Next, push it outward from the center with your fingertips. Then pick up the dough circle and, holding it under the rim, turn it like a steering wheel, letting the gravity of the dough help it stretch. Drape the dough over the backs of your hands and gently stretch outward, rotating periodically. Flop the stretched dough down onto the pizza peel.
7. Spoon 3 to 4 tbsp. tomato sauce onto dough, leaving at least a 1/2-in. border.
8. Plant tip of pizza peel (or long edge of baking sheet) on pizza stone (or preheated sheet) and shove pizza quickly onto stone and bake 3 to 6 minutes, or until crust looks dryish but not browned. Remove pizza from oven and sprinkle on about 1/2 cup mozzarella cubes in clusters, then 1 generous pinch oregano. Return to oven and cook 2 to 5 minutes more, or until crust is golden brown and firm but not rock hard. Transfer pizza to a cutting board and drizzle with basil oil. Assemble and bake rest of pizzas the same way.
Make ahead: Dough can be formed into balls (step 5) and chilled overnight, tightly covered with plastic wrap, instead of rising on counter (it will rise slowly in the fridge). You can also freeze the dough for up to 2 weeks (let chilled or frozen dough come to room temperature before stretching).
Variation: Pizzetta 211 Pepperoni Pizza
Follow directions for Pizzetta 211 Margherita Pizza. In step 7, lay 8 or 9 slices Molinari Hot Salami or your favorite spicy salami over dough (you’ll need about 4 oz. for 4 pizzas). Bake as directed.
This was a tasty little idea from Sandra Lee over at the food network. It’s a great solution if you’ve mixed up a bit more dough than your dinner guests could handle – instead of making a bunch of instantly left-over piza, how about saving that last dough ball and making breakfast pizza?? I like it!
crusts (recommended: Boboli) blend (recommended: Colby)Set up grill for direct cooking over medium heat. Oil grate when ready to start cooking.
In a medium pan over medium heat, scramble eggs in butter; set aside.
Lay out pizza crusts and brush each with oil. Top with eggs, cheese, crumbled sausage, Parmesan, tomatoes, and Italian seasoning.
Slide onto hot oiled grill and cook, covered, 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese has melted and begins to bubble.
Serve hot, cut into wedges.
INDOOR: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare pizza as directed. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and begins to bubble.
The original posting of this recipe can be found here.
After trying the recipe in my original post on Yeast-Free Pizza Dough, I have some results to report. The dough itself was much more solid feeling than a regular pizza dough – I began in the same fashion I would normally flatten dough out, on the counter with my hands, but after a certain point, it began to feel like I was trying to toss a big sheet of cookie dough, not piza dough. So I got out my trusty rolling pin and went to town – this easily created a very thin, very pliable dough that I could then load onto my pizza pan and prep for the oven. When the pizza came out, it looked as if it had not risen at all – I suspect that my long rest in the fridge negated any effect the baking powder had, and the double acting feature was all but absent. The dough baked very thin, but because of the high oil content, it was very crispy – it began to taste like a homemade cracker after a few bites. There was good snap, it supported the weight of the toppings, it had a real buttery flavor ( even though there was no actual butter in the dough) – all in all, it wasn’t bad.
However, coming from the yeast world and knowing what I was missing, it wasn’t great either. I think it was just a preference thing. I felt it was a bit dry and a bit dense. I can actually get my yeast dough just as thin, but the yeast dough feels much lighter and airier in your hand and in your mouth. Also, as you eat the yeast-free slices, they feel heavy in your stomach – the yeast slices feel like you could go on eating forever! My dad tried a slice and actually liked the yeast-free pizza a lot, but I think for my money, if I had the option, I would stick with a yeast leavened dough. Now please enjoy some photographic samples of a yeast-free pizza.
It was Andrew’s birthday, so to celebrate, we put him to work! Watch as Alicia and Andrew use dough from this post to make beautiful homemade pizza! If you know those two crazy kids, or you just like their antics, drop me a comment on this post and let me know what you think – even better, subscribe to email updates and you can get Alicia and Andrew, fresh in your inbox
I’ve recently found it necessary to explore yeast-free pizza dough and so I’d like to offer this recipe up as a jumping off point for those celiac disease or are taking Isoniazid. I would suggest using double-acting baking powder as all the chemical leavening may just leave this dough is you let it rest for any amount of time. If you use double-acting baking powder, you’ll get an initial boost of CO2 when the powder is first incorporated into the dough, but you’ll also get a second burst of gas when you apply the heat a couple days later.
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl or your stand mixer. Mix until everything has come together and looks like a rough dough. Then stop, cover the bowl with some plastic, and let sit for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, start that stand mixer a-mixin again and mix for 5-8 minutes. Then, you guessed it, stop the mixer and re-cover it – let it rest for another 20 minutes. Lastly, place the dough in the fridge and let sit for a day or so – pull it out an hour before baking and let the dough return to room temp. Make a pizza and place it in a 550+ oven for a short amount of time.
The only thing I’m unsure about here is the rest in the fridge. Normally this would give the yeast time to develop flavor and begin to convert the dough into yeast by-product (CO2) but in this case that won’t be happening. My theory is that a day-long rest in the fridge might still be nice for the overall texture of your dough, and if it went into the fridge as a tight, tough ball of dough, the rest should give the gluten network that has formed time to relax and slacken so you can spread/toss your dough more easily. I’ll report on my findings here.
Good luck – and good eats!
-Ryan
I found the proportions for the ingredients listed in this recipe here. Thanks!
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