home made pizza dough

[ymushi]

I have been making own pizza dough when ever we have pizza.
very simple,but definitely better than chain pizza company's one.

but I would like to make more rustic, ' wow this crust is really good ! ' class pizza dough.
I have searched quite lot but pretty much all dough recipe is same ingredients.
maybe using white wine is the only thing big difference compare to my dough.
I tried mario batali's pizza dough recipe, but wasn't wow enough for me.
(I was so exited to try this dough recipe but wasn't incredible )

my usual dough recipe is
3 cups all purpose flour ( gold medal or Pillsbury's)
1 cup warm water
1 packet of dry yeast ( fleishmann's)
1TBS honey or brown sugar
2-3 TBS ex virgin olive oil
1/2-1 tsp salt ( diamond's kosher )

after kneading them rise in the kitchen until double size or so.
I don't have pizza stone.
I use regular baking sheet.
sprinkle cornmeal.roll out the dough,move to the pan, put the topping
then bake it 425F-450F for about 10 min or so ?
I don't set timer so I'm not sure exact baking time.

probably flour quality or yeast's company, or rising in the refrigerator etc...makes
taste different.
I know slower rising is better taste.

I just don't know how to make ' wow ' dough.
I would like to up grade my pizza ( dough)

so far, my pizza is fine but not fantastic.

Do you have any good tip or recipe for fantastic home made pizza dough ?

I would like to know what ever kind of dough
that is really good.

please help me.
thank you.

[yayadave]

With out turning this into launching a space ship, you're doing the right things. You probably need to do some small things differently. Learn how to form the pizza round on your knuckles. Put the tips of your fingers together so that your fingers, up to the second joint, make a table. Then put the dough on top of your "table." Move your hands apart slightly to stretch the dough. Then turn the dough and stretch it again the same way. Continue this until your dough is the right size. With a little practice you'll be flipping the dough on your knuckles.
Other small things to try. Yes on pizza stone. Try a 500 degree oven. It will be done very quickly. Put some olive oil on the rim of the crust before baking it. Sure, try different olive oils and flours. You might even try filtering you water. It's about 40% of this dough.
There's nothing wrong with what you're doing. You just need to do some fine tuning.

[ymushi]

shaping pizza ? that's one of problem part, too.
I don't mind what pizza shape is.
I try to make circle every time.
most of the time end up not circle.
I need practice for this...

yes pizza stone ? I thought so...
now I really want to try baking on the pizza stone to see
how much difference I can get.

[yayadave]

Here is a video of stretching the dough on a board, not as I described. Notice the amount of flour on the board.

[Liz K]

I also refrigerate overnight. Good for the crust, and easier time-wise.

That said, I think a stone is essential for great pizza. ANY recipe will be improved.

[fayehess]

I think letting it sit in the fridge overnight makes a massive difference. Also try a good quality bread flour and cake yeast vs. powdered. If you can't find cake yeast at your grocer's, the baker will often sell it to you. don't forget to use the best olive oil you can get your hands on to drizzle over the top after it comes out of the oven. fayefood.com

[dolores]

>>I think letting it sit in the fridge overnight makes a massive difference.

What kind of difference?

[abud]

It's true about letting the dough sit overnight. I used the cook's illstrated recipe for thin crust pizza dough and you let it sit in the fridge overnight and it BLEW any other pizza dough I've ever made (and most I've ever tasted) out of the water.

[koan]

there's a big difference... Refrigerating the dough and allowing it to age for a day or more prior to the initial rise allows the other organisms in the dough to flourish before all the good stuff is eaten up by the yeast. This adds to the complexity of the taste of the eventual crust. As an added benefit, if you make a wetter dough, gluten will develop on its own, so you have to kneed less.

[dolores]

Interesting. I'll have to try it.

[monkeyrotica]

Interesting. I know a lot of "artisinal" pizza places that proudly proclaim how they make their dough fresh every day, and how it's never refrigerated.

[jencounter]

It's possible that they use starters for their dough; they add a lot of flavor and complexity.

[fayehess]

this is incredibly well spoken, and even though I have done it this way for years, not in a million more, would I have been able to articulate the benefits of letting the dough sit in the fridge the way you did. Thanks for that; it alwalys feels a lot better to know why you do what you do. :)

[jencounter]

I agree with this.

My recipe is significantly wetter than the OPs: 2 cups flour (I use 1 cup AP and one cup white whole wheat, both King Arthur brand flours), 1 cup warm water, 1 pkg yeast, 3 tbl olive oil, dash of salt and sugar. I hardly knead it at all and I always make it ahead and refrigerate overnight or several hours at the very least. It's delicious, but slightly tricky to work with at the beginning.

[grampart]

If you really want to make "WOW" pizza, everything you need can be found here.
http://www.pizzamaking.com/

[JoanN]

It’s true. But by the time you’ve considered the Lehmann calculator, the hydration factor, and autolyze parameters you’ll be screaming for someone to just post a recipe.

[grampart]

I use the Lehmann calculator (not difficult, but a digital scale helps) with a 63% hydration factor, and refrigerate the dough from 3 to 5 days. Conventional electric oven with a Fibrament stone. I always get "wows", especially from those who are eating my pizza for the first time.

[JoanN]

Actually, I do almost exactly the same--but I have a gas oven. Nonetheless, pizzamaking.com can be positively overwhelming when you want a recipe and an answer in 5 five minutes

[ymushi]

I just look at web site.
It is difficult to find what I want to know.
I need look at this site when I have time...

maybe baking process make huge difference more than dough ?
I'm sure wood burning oven would make great pizza.
but I am not going to have one so far.
Should I get pizza stone ?
How much difference can expect compare to regular baking sheet ?

[monkeyrotica]

I think a pizza stone is a good investment. They're usually pretty cheap (I got mine for $13 at Bed Bath and Beyond with a free pizza flip), you leave them in the oven when not in use, and they come in handy for baking breads.

Temperature is a significant issue. NYC coal fired pizza ovens burn at 800-1000 degrees; the pizza cooks in only a few minutes and the crust remains thin and develops a char. A 450 degree oven will take longer and the crust has a chance to rise. One's not necessarily better than the other, but the taste/texture is different.

[JoanN]

You might want to buy a copy of Peter Reinhart's "American Pie."

http://www.amazon.com/American-Pie-Se...

The book has formulas for a number of different kinds of crusts--thick, thin, chewy, crispy. One of them (if not several) is bound to wow you. It's a terrific book, and should be in the library of any serious pizza maker.

[kkbriggs]

I'll second the recommendation for American Pie. It is really a great book.

[gabby29]

Have you tried changing the manufacturer of the ingredients you use to impart different flavors? For instance, you could try KA flour, a different olive oil, perhaps Sicilian which has a deeper flavor, something other than the standard clover honey, maybe roasting some garlic in the oil and using that instead, etc. The wonderful thing about this recipe is the ability to play with it.

[dolores]

Exactly, gabby29. I like its forgiving nature. A sidenote, I had a copious amount of toasted breadcrumbs from a seafood aglio e olio I had just made. Not one to throw out stuff, I added the bread crumbs to the dry pizza mixture and it was delish. The crust turned out a nutty brown color. Hubby thought it was whole wheat flour, which he hates, but was quite happy on finding out it wasn't.

[bnemes3343]

Yeast, flour, water, salt and olive oil ==> a great pizza dough (ok, add some sugar or honey if you really need to) . I cook it on a very hot stone in a very hot oven (500) and the dough is better than 99% of what I get out. What my wife and I marvel at is why, given how simple and basic a really good pizza dough is, the dough in so many pizza joints just isn't very good. It's not like there's some secret expensive ingredient they are leaving out.

[MagnumWino]

I use equal parts (2 cups each) all purpose flour and cake flour, dry yeast, tblsp each of honey and olive oil, couple pinches of sea salt. After trying different recipes over the years, this one is the best. This will make 2 15" pies.

I knead the dough for ten minutes then let rise for about two hours. I then turn the dough out onto my work surface, divide in half, knead each piece for a couple of minutes then shape each into a ball, place on a sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap for another half hour or so, then use.

[dolores]

MagnumWino, you knead the OP's recipe that much? I don't find it necessary to do so and the pizza is perfect in thickness.

[MagnumWino]

dolores,
Yes, I've always kneaded the dough for that length of time. I find the more you knead, the more elasticity the dough has, being easier to work with.

[dolores]

ymushi, that's my recipe! I have been using it since forever, and am never disappointed. It is a very forgiving dough. Fantastic to me means brick oven, but this pizza is still very good.

I let it rise in the oven, not turned on of course. As to time, I usually need to bake my pizza at that temp. for 30 min. or so.

I don't have any 'new and improved' recipe, no, and don't think I'd vary from this one.