Passionate About Pizza: Making Great Homemade Pizza (25 page)

Mixing
– Put the yeast, salt, and one cup of the flour in a mixing bowl and mix together. Stir in the very warm water and the melted shortening (or olive oil) and mix well to combine. Add one more cup of flour and mix well until the dough comes together.

Kneading
–
Knead the dough until the dough is smooth and elastic and no flour shows. The dough should no longer feel sticky. Rather, it should be somewhat elastic and should spring back when pressed. Shape the dough into a ball for rising.

Rising
– Because this dough has less yeast and no sugar it will rise less than other dough. In addition, there is a smaller quantity of flour so it will look smaller after rising than other dough recipes, too. Do not be alarmed if the risen dough looks somewhat small.

Shaping
–
In order for this dough to achieve its cracker-style crunch, you must roll it into shape. After shaping, dock (or prick) the dough at one-half inch intervals all over its surface with the tines of a fork. If you have one, you can use a dough docker to prick the dough. You are not trying to make holes through the dough. Rather, you want to connect the top of the dough to the bottom. Cracker-style Dough sometimes sticks to the pizza peel because holes poked in it let the sauce seep through, so I recommend that you use a pizza pan or a pizza screen. Place the rolled and docked pizza shell on an oiled pizza screen.

Baking
–
Bake this dough at 500˚ in a pan or on a pizza screen.

Focaccia Dough

This rich, soft dough is a wonderful base for the flavorful but subtle toppings of Focaccia.
Use Focaccia Dough for pizza and pizza’s close relatives baked on a stone, on a screen, or on a pan. Makes enough for one twelve to fourteen inch Focaccia.

1/2 cup lukewarm tap water (105 – 115 degrees F)
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1 package (about 3/4 Tablespoon) active dry yeast (regular or quick-rise)
2 Tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin, if preferred)
2 1/2 to 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
unbleached all-purpose flour (for kneading and shaping)

Mixing
– Pour the water and milk into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle in the sugar and the yeast. Stir gently for a few seconds (do not worry if the yeast is not completely dissolved). Let stand until it starts to get foamy, about ten minutes. You should begin to see the yeast multiply; it will produce bubbles and clumps that rise to the surface of the water.

Add the olive oil, one cup of the flour, and the salt. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Add one and a half cups more flour and mix well. The dough should come together and be fairly dry. You may need to add up to an additional half-cup or so of flour if the dough is very wet or sticky.

Kneading
–
Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic and no bits of flour show. The dough should feel somewhat elastic and should spring back when pressed. Shape the dough into a ball for rising.

Shaping
–
You will generally let this dough rest in a pizza pan and then press it into a roughly circular shape without a rimmed edge. After that, you can let the shaped dough rise in the pan for ten to twenty minutes so that the crust will be thicker after baking. You can lightly dimple the surface of the dough using your fingertips before adding the toppings to create some nooks and crannies to hold the toppings.

Alternatively, you may roll or stretch this dough into shape.
Baking
–
Bake this dough at 450 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit on a stone, in a pan, or on a pizza screen unless otherwise directed.
Variation
–
You can use half all-purpose unbleached flour and half bread flour.

Half Wheat Dough

This dough has the nutty, whole-grain taste of whole wheat, but retains much of the shaping characteristics of basic pizza dough.
For thin-style pizza baked on a stone, on a screen, or in a pan. Makes one fourteen to sixteen inch pizza.

1 cup lukewarm tap water (105 – 115 degrees F)
1 teaspoon sugar or honey
1 package (about 3/4 Tablespoon) active dry yeast (not quick-rise)
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups bread flour
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
unbleached bread flour (for kneading and shaping)

The higher gluten in the bread flour helps offset the lower gluten content of the whole wheat flour. This makes the handling characteristics of the whole-wheat dough similar to basic pizza dough. This dough may feel slightly stiff due to the whole wheat absorbing more water; you can add more water or use less flour if you would like to compensate for this.

Mixing
– Pour the water into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle in the sugar (or add in the honey) and add in the yeast. Stir gently for a few seconds (do not worry if the yeast is not completely dissolved). Let stand until the yeast starts to get foamy, a few minutes. You should begin to see the yeast multiply; it will produce bubbles and clumps that rise to the surface of the water.

Add 1 cup of the bread flour, the oil, and the salt. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon or a wire whisk. Add the other 1/4 cup bread flour and 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour and mix well. The dough should come together and will be fairly dry. You may need to add up to an additional 1/4 cup or so of bread flour if the dough is very wet or sticky.

Kneading
–
Knead the dough until the dough is smooth and elastic and no bits of flour show. The dough should feel rather elastic and should spring back when pressed. Shape the dough into a ball for rising.

Shaping
–
Roll, press, or stretch the dough into shape. Half wheat dough may be somewhat more likely to tear than other dough when hand-stretched, so be careful.
Baking
–
Bake this dough at 500 degrees Fahrenheit on a stone, in a pan, or on a pizza screen unless otherwise directed.
Variation
–
You can use 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 – 2 cups bread flour.

Whole Wheat Dough

Whole Wheat Dough is perfect for the whole-grain purist who is willing to sacrifice some of the character of typical pizza crust.
Use Whole Wheat Dough for thin-style pizza baked in a pan, on a screen, or on a stone. Makes one fourteen to sixteen inch pizza.

1 cup lukewarm tap water (105 – 115 degrees F)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 package (about 3/4 Tablespoon) active dry yeast (not quick-rise)
2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
up to 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (optional)
unbleached all-purpose flour (for kneading and shaping)

The added vital wheat gluten helps offset the lower gluten content of the whole-wheat flour. This improves the handling characteristics of the whole-wheat dough.

Mixing
– Pour the water in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle in the sugar and the yeast. Stir gently for a few seconds (do not worry if the yeast is not completely dissolved). Let stand until the yeast starts to become active. You should begin to see the yeast multiply; it will produce bubbles and clumps that rise to the surface of the water.

Add one cup of the whole-wheat flour, the vital wheat gluten, the oil, and the salt. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon or wire whisk. Add one and a half cups more whole-wheat flour and mix well. The dough should come together and will be fairly dry. You may need to add up to a half-cup or so of all-purpose flour if the dough is very wet or sticky.

Kneading
–
Knead the dough until the dough is smooth and elastic and no bits of flour show. The dough should no longer feel too sticky and should spring back when pressed. Shape the dough into a ball for rising.

Shaping
–
Roll or press this dough into shape and bake it using a pizza pan. This dough is quite likely to tear when hand-stretched, so you are better off using a different method than stretching to shape the pizza.

Baking
–
Bake this dough at 500 degrees Fahrenheit on a stone, in a pan, or on a pizza screen unless otherwise directed.

Variation
– You can adjust the amount of vital wheat gluten to change the stretchiness of the dough. Adding more vital wheat gluten will create elastic dough with fewer tendencies to tear when stretched. You can add up to 3 – 4 Tablespoons.

Rye Dough

For a crust with a stronger taste, try this rye dough. It stands up to bold flavored toppings quite well and makes a unique pizza. The caraway seeds add a nice punch, too.
Use Rye Dough for thin-style pizza baked on a stone, on a screen, or in a pan. Makes one fourteen to sixteen inch pizza.

1 cup lukewarm tap water (105 – 115 degrees F)
1 Tablespoon molasses or honey
1 package (about 3/4 Tablespoon) active dry yeast (not quick-rise)
1 1/2 to 2 cups unbleached bread flour
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon caraway seeds (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup rye flour
unbleached bread flour (for kneading and shaping)

Mixing
– Pour the water in a large mixing bowl, add the molasses (or honey), and sprinkle in the yeast. Stir gently for a few seconds (do not worry if the yeast is not completely dissolved). Let stand until the yeast starts to become foamy. You should wait to further mix the dough until you see the yeast multiply; it will produce bubbles and clumps that rise to the surface of the water.

Add one cup of the unbleached bread flour, the oil, the caraway seeds (if using them), and the salt. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Add a half cup of unbleached bread flour and one-cup rye flour and mix well. The dough should come together and be fairly dry. You may need to add up to an additional half-cup or so of bread flour if the dough is very wet or sticky.

Kneading
–
Knead the dough until the dough is smooth and elastic and no bits of flour show. The dough should feel somewhat elastic and should spring back when pressed. Shape the dough into a ball for rising.

Shaping
–
This dough is generally better for thin-style pizza and can be rolled or gently stretched into shape. Assemble on a pizza peel or pizza screen.
Baking
–
Bake this dough at 500 degrees Fahrenheit on a stone, in a pan, or on a pizza screen unless otherwise directed.