Using skimmed milk instead of water, dougthecook pizza dough had different characteristics, as expected. The dough cooked through rather than a little gooey in the middle. It rolled out nice but was a little more dense than the water version. And chewier.
dtc
Sounds like a classical music passage. From a hint I found at Cooks Illustrated I used milk instead of water to make pizza dough. The dough was a little less wet than the water-based one but still pliable. As they say the proof is in the pizza and I will find out tonight how well it tastes. As an aside, I do not think any pizzerias use milk in their dough as it would be too expensive.
Doug
I made a batch of dougthecook pizza dough the other day. As usual, I relied on the breadmaker to do the kneading. But, before I loaded up the breadmaker pan, I mixed the flour and cornmeal together and sifted them.
Not that any lumps existed but I wanted to insure that the flour was aerated. As flour travels from factory to your home it is compressed by settling among other things. Aerating the flour makes it lighter per cup (4 oz vs 5 oz packed) and overall mixing improves.
The result was no pockets of flour or cornmeal and a more consistent dough. Though this is empirical evidence I’ll add this step to the dougthecook pizza dough.
dtc
Next time I make pizza I’m going to sift together the dry ingredients. This will help the ingredients get fully moistened and should result in a fluffier crust. Also, sifting will prevent chunks of a dry ingredient from happening - like biting into the crust and finding a pocket of flour. If you do not have a sifter you can use a wire whisk to “sift” the flour.
Sifted flour weighs 4 oz to a cup while settled flour weighs about 5 oz - that is a 20% difference in volume!. Settling occurs during shipping to the store. Sifting aerates the flour back to its wanted state. When measuring flour it should always be done by weight, not by volume.
Doug
I have decided to make a web area dedicated to pizza. You will find everything you need to know about making pizza at home. No pizza stone will be left unturned.
dtc
This pizza dough is an updated version of an earlier one. Sugar has been added for the yeast feast and the flour increased by 1/4 cup since the dough has turned out sticky the times I made it. I made this last night and it turned out great.
1 cup warm water (105 - 115 F)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 T corn oil
2 3/4 cups white flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 pkg yeast (1/4 oz or 2 1/4 tsp)
For bread maker:
Put in liquids first, then solids then yeast. (The list is in correct order). I swirl the breadmaker container around after adding the water, sugar, salt, and corn oil so they distribute. Mix on dough setting.
Put dough in refrigerator for 20 minutes before making the pizza.
This recipe made enough for two 9 inch pizzas. Brush the dough with oil before putting on the sauce/toppings to prevent the sauce from soaking in.
The pizza was cooked on the middle lower rack at 400 F for 20 minutes (until cheese was slightly brown and crust brown).
Pizza dough freezes well so it pays to make a large batch. Divide up the dough into two balls (most recipes make enough dough for two pizzas) and flatten the ball to be frozen. Cover with plastic wrap then aluminum foil and into the freezer it goes.
Fresh pizza dough can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days though the yeast starts to ferment after a 1/2 day and the pizza dough will smell like beer. Form the dough into a small patty and cover it lightly with olive oil to prevent skinning.
Doug
Pizza Dough Recipe
1 cup warm water (110 F)
1 T olive oil
1 T white sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp active dry yeast
I make this in a bread maker on dough setting. Enough for two 12 inch thin crust pizzas. Brush crust with olive oil before putting on the topping. It helps prevent the sauce from soaking in the dough and making it soggy.
This is a pretty good recipe. The fact that it only has 1 teaspoon of yeast limits the rising of the dough. This makes it denser instead of airy which I like.
Doug
From all the pizza doughs I’ve been trying here is an amalgamation of them. It came out crisp with a good taste to it. I have a sneaking suspicion that many commercial pizza doughs use shortening.
After spreading the dough out and punching several holes in the bottom with a fork, the sauce and toppings went on then I cooked it in a 9 inch iron skillet on the middle-low rack at 400 F for 25 minutes (until the cheese was a nice brown). Lucky me: it made enough for two pizzas. The sauce I used was sauce #1 which I listed in an earlier post which is pretty good but a bit too much tomato taste. Next time I’ll cut the tomato paste in half.
1 cup water (110-115 F)
1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/3 cup corn oil
1 T sugar
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 1/2 cups bread flour
I made this in a breadmaker on dough setting. Once it was done I let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. I punched it down, divided it in half, and made the first pizza. Note that I brought the dough to room temperature before using it. The second pizza, which I had the next night was not quite as good so I think keeping in the fridge for two nights is a slight negative.
Next time I’ll make this on a pizza stone.
Doug
Here is another pizza dough recipe I tried last night:
1 cup warm water (105 - 115 F)
1 tsp salt
2 T corn oil
2 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 pkg yeast (1/4 oz or 2 1/4 tsp)
For bread maker:
Put in liquids first, then solids then yeast. (The list is in correct order) Mix on dough setting.
Put in refrigerator for 20 minutes before making the pizza.
This recipe made enough for two 9 inch pizzas. I put the dough into a 9 inch iron skillet with sauce and toppings. One thing I forgot to do was brush the dough with oil before putting on the sauce/toppings. This prevents the sauce from soaking into the dough.
The pizza was cooked on the middle lower rack at 400 F for 20 minutes (until cheese was slightly brown and crust brown). Yumm. Reminded me a little of Pizzeria Uno.
Doug
