Pizza crust – Help!

Topic

New Reply

I asked in my post 753,387 about pizza crust recipes from the Great Chef Chris but since he is “in the dark” (due to electrical outage in his area), I’ll put my plea out to anyone who happens to have a “fail proof” recipe to share. My last attempt was more leathery then crusty and I was very disappointed with my effort. All helpful suggestions will be appreciated!

Reply | Quote

Replies

When I make my own, I use the Boboli pre-made crust. But I googled up this site that you might find useful.

Reply | Quote

I use the Boboli pre-made crust
You cheat!?

I’ll take a look at your link and see if it offers me any help! Thanks!

Reply | Quote

[indent]

---

I use the Boboli pre-made crust
You cheat!?

---

[/indent]

Yes I do !!! But I make a pretty good pizza !!!

Reply | Quote

The more sugar you put into your dough mixture, the crustier it gets. However, as you increase the sugar, increase the yeast by a tenths as much and the rising time by 3 times.

In other words, if you add 10 grams of suger, add 1 gram of yeast and allow 3 more minutes for the dough to rise.

BTW, I always add some oregano and basil to the dough, gives it a nice background, so to speak

Reply | Quote

The recipe I tried which didn’t turn out the best is the following:

500gr bread flour
325gr water
10gr salt
3gr dry active yeast.

I think maybe I didn’t let it rise as long as I should have and that’s part of the reason it was tough.
Do I understand correctly – I can add sugar to any recipe like the one I have, in the proportions you have given to make it more crusty – or should I hunt for a recipe that already includes some sugar?
I like your idea of adding the oregano and basil because I enjoy both flavors!

Thanks!

Reply | Quote

Yes, you can add sugar to any dough recipe, including bread or bread rolls. The important thing is to let it rise, then knock it down and let it rise again. Of course this has to be done at room temperature, covered with a wet towel.

Bread flour here has lots of additives, I just use plain flower and I always use filtered water for baking (and making coffee). You’d be amazed about the difference between tap water dough and filtered water.

The other important part about making home pizzas is the temperature which should not be above 175 degrees Celsius (~345 degrees Fahrenheit). You want it to bake slowly so all the flavors can mix together

Reply | Quote

Thanks for your response. I’m going to give it another go today – if I can find a warm enough place for the dough to sit and rise!

Reply | Quote

Hi Skitterbug,

You can also try this link.

My experience is that it is easier to find a warm place in the house to let the dough rise in winter, than in summer.

Hope your subsequent efforts are more rewarding.

Johanna

Reply | Quote

My experience is that it is easier to find a warm place in the house to let the dough rise in winter, than in summer.

Not in this house! Our thermostats are set to 67 and 68 degrees F and we have hot water baseboard heating system. Trying to find a nice cozy spot for dough to rise is very difficult. Today I put my bowl of dough on top of the dishwasher which seemed warm because I had it running. This worked better than the last spot I tried. The crust turned out more like I wanted but still not quite what I hoped for. I still think most of my problem has to do with the warmth getting that dough to rise properly. I’ll have to look for plain flour as Claude suggested because currently I am using bread flour. Our water is filtered so I have that part covered.
……And I have to figure out a way to induce the dough to rise properly!

Thanks for the link. Between your link and the one that Doc gave, there are certainly many different recipes for pizza! This project is going to call for lots of practice!

Reply | Quote

Hi Skitter,

Practice is the best bit!! I mean, what would you do next if you got it perfect first time??

Johanna

Reply | Quote

If you keep the pets away from it, you could place the dough on a footstool or low table next to the baseboard heater to rise. One of those cheap, stackable checkerboard, wire toped, metal end tables from a set of yard furniture (lets the warm air circulate around the pan) would be ideal.

Reply | Quote

Keeping Max’s nose out of the bowl might be a challenge! He’s our Schnauzer and he is very curious about anything that’s in his reach. Our baseboard registers don’t emit heat in any one area that would amount to enough for this project. The only place it could be a possibility would be upstairs where the more traditional type register is located. But < there's always a "but" involved > we don’t turn the heat past 55 degrees in that area since the kids are gone and the space is not used. So even though your idea would work in some folks’ home, it isn’t an option for me. Thanks for the suggestion though!

Reply | Quote

Is there a place around your hot water tank? Or there can be just the right anount of heat from the back of a fridge.

Reply | Quote

Is there a place around your hot water tank? Or there can be just the right anount of heat from the back of a fridge.

Both good suggestions but… – our hot water tank is in a unfinished basement in an open area so I wouldn’t want to put my pizza dough there. And our refrigerator is built into the kitchen area so I can’t set the bowl on the top of it toward the back. I did try setting the bowl of dough right next to the refrigerator toward the back area but it didn’t work. Yours are also very good suggestions, but they won’t work for me. Thanks for thinking about my problem though!

Reply | Quote

If you’ve got a bedside table lamp, put it under than and turn the light on, just make sure that the towel is well wet. Here, in summertime, I just leave it on the kitchen bench, in winter, assuming it’s a sunny day, I put it on a chair behind a window. If the sun isn’t shining, I don’t bake

Reply | Quote

If you’ve got a bedside table lamp, put it under than and turn the light on..

Now this suggestion might actually work for me! I do have a table lamp but I’ll need to change the bulb back to an “old fashioned bulb” so it produces heat. I am going to give my dough making project another go – probably tomorrow morning. I am counting on this being the ticket to success! I’ll post back my results! BTW, can unbaked pizza crusts be frozen for later use?

Thanks!

Reply | Quote

Hi Skitter,

That’s a question that I’ve always wondered about as well. But (see, it can be a good BUT as well,) my friend ‘Slatts’ says that he does all the time.

He lightly oils cling wrap and then wraps his uncooked dough. He then wraps that in another layer of freezer proof plastic.

He says that it lasts for weeks in the freezer. He allows it to thaw and then kneads it again and gives it time to rise again.

Johanna

Reply | Quote

Hi Johanna

So “Slatts” lets his dough rise the first time and then he punches it down before he wraps it and freezes it? And then when he thaws it again, it will rise the second time? If that works, at least that would help me a bit while I practice my dough making skills. If I can take it completely through to the formed crust stage, that would be even better. I imagine I’ll experiment with my idea and see how it works. Hopefully, we’ll also get some “feed back”.

BTW, I enjoyed your earlier comment about what I’d do if I got it right the first time. I’d celebrate! Try as I might, it doesn’t happen very often!

Thanks for contributing to my learning process!

Reply | Quote

Hi Skitter,

I had to go and check with Slatts. I was wrong in what I said.

He does what Claude has said he does. That is, rolls the dough out on the tray and freezes it ready to use.

My apologies for leading you astray, momentarily at least.

Just goes to show that you always need to double check your instructions. I just assumed that I could freeze the lump and get it going again.

Johanna

Reply | Quote

My apologies for leading you astray, momentarily at least.

Hey – Not a problem! No apology necessary! This is a learning journey! And I am learning everyday! I appreciate meeting people from all over the world sharing their ideas and information! Let’s gather round the table and enjoy our companionship with a good pizza! and

Reply | Quote

I freeze any leftover dough after I have spread it out as if I was using it. I wrap it in cling wrap and it always works the same as fresh dough after defrosting. I do sprinkle a bit of salt on both sides and distribute it before wrapping though, just to help preserve it. I’ve had dough which was six month old and it was perfectly ok.

Reply | Quote

I freeze any leftover dough after I have spread it out as if I was using it. I wrap it in cling wrap and it always works the same as fresh dough after defrosting. I do sprinkle a bit of salt on both sides and distribute it before wrapping though, just to help preserve it. I’ve had dough which was six month old and it was perfectly ok.

This is excellent news – I have found that I can only eat only “so many pizzas” or I will become the same shape as that blob of dough I’ve been trying to get to rise properly!

I really appreciate your help! It’s time for a pizza party!

Reply | Quote

The lamp worked! I made pizza for the family tonight and was told that my kitchen smelled like a Pizza Parlor! And the test for me is always what’s left since it is usually the food no one likes. Guess what? Nothing was left! Thanks everybody for all the help with this project! I am happy a pizza maker!

Reply | Quote

Good to hear. So, are you going to open a franchise now ?

Reply | Quote

>> So, are you going to open a franchise now ?

S’BugWay has a certain ring to it, not sure that Geoff would approve though

Reply | Quote

S’BugWay has a certain ring to it, not sure that Geoff would approve though

That’s hilarious! Modesty spoken, I’d have to say the pizzas I made were excellent but I doubt that I’d be able to keep it up day after day. And after it was all said and done, I’d be very tired of anything that had to do with pizza! So I’ll stay out of the business except for “home cooking”.

Reply | Quote

It doesn’t worry me personally, but my superiors may not agree.

Reply | Quote

>Nothing was left!
Great!
Now, for those of us who have arrived late on the scene, might you post a ‘final” version of the ingredients and the steps?
I’ve often wanted to make pizza, perhaps a cute little six-incher, with the cheese, meat, cheese, tomato, cheese, onion, cheese and mushroom; all topped off of course, with a smothering layer of cheese.

Reply | Quote

Skitter,

I was thinking about you and this thread while on holidays and was faced with a menu that said:

Mixed berry and White Chocolate Calzone

How could anyone go past it? It was delicious. The dough was very thin, but very crisp. It was about the size of a Cornish Pastie. The hot melted chocolate … mmmmmm ….

Johanna

Reply | Quote

Skitter,

I was thinking about you and this thread while on holidays and was faced with a menu that said:

Mixed berry and White Chocolate Calzone

How could anyone go past it? It was delicious. The dough was very thin, but very crisp. It was about the size of a Cornish Pastie. The hot melted chocolate … mmmmmm ….

Johanna

Melted chocolate on anything sounds yummy but the added berries would really add to the pleasure! And now you’ve gone and done it…..made me hungry! I may have to find a recipe and give this a try! Thanks for thinking about me! Hope your “vacation” was a great one – memories included – especially because of one certain seal!

Reply | Quote

Mixed berry and White Chocolate Calzone/quote]”Calzones” is a word in Spanish which can be trusers or underpants.

I’m not sure which one I’d like with berry and chocolate

Reply | Quote

Makes me wonder, even more, what was meant my ‘open calzone’ when I saw it on the menu of a very well publicisied hotel venue in Mildura some time ago.

Now you really have my mind creating pictures!!

Reply | Quote