I love pizza. When I make it from scratch, I usually use a bread machine to mix and knead the dough. It does a decent job and saves time. The dough would turn out inconsistent, though – sometimes it would rise ok, other times not.
I’ve always assumed the bread machine spent the first several minutes heating up the bread pan to about 115 degrees F so the yeast would activate. Never assume. What I do now (this also goes for bread) is mix all the liquids in a microwave dish and nuke it until it is 115 degrees (I use a digital thermometer) about 1 minute or so depending on the temperature of the liquid. Then I pour it in the bread pan and continue the recipe. It has made an enormous difference in breads and pizza doughs.
dtc
