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Anyone make their own Pizza Dough?

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I made mine from scratch for years: a bowl, water, yeast, salt, maybe some oil, possibly some milk powder depending on my mood, maybe some rosemary.

Now I use a bread machine and the pizza dough recipe that came with it. Way less trouble, does a fantastic job. 5 minutes of work and I get 2 lb of pizza dough after one hour. Can refrigerate and use portions of it later (within reason).
 

yep - bread machine works great. I usually split a batch into 3 and they last about a week in the fridge.

get a pizza stone and you're set -- pre-heat it to 450 and sprinkle cornmeal on it just before sliding the pizza on it

for sauce, I simmer plain tomato sauce while the dough is being made -- by the time the dough is done, the sauce has thickened and is better than any canned/jar of pizza sauce you could buy. For variations, add garlic or basil or bbq sauce. Simple and cheap.

I turn down the temp to 400 as soon as i start baking it. Takes about 8-10min and comes out great.

Here's my favorite combo: pepperoni, jalapenos, pineapple -- don't knock it till ya try it!
 
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Oh, I'd share my recipe if I could, but it's a company secret. I used that recipe for a charity pizza dinner & received rave reviews of my pizza.
Click to expand...

Stop teasing us and post it..... 😉
 
i always do

1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/4 cup slightly warm water
i cant remember how much flour. i dont measure it, i usually start with 2 or 3 cups, start mixing in a stand mixer with a dough hook (im way, way too lazy to knead by hand) and add some flour to get the right texture, then let it mix for 10 or 12 minutes. this will make one pretty big pizza, or two smaller ones

i like mine to sit at least 4 hours after that, preferably 6 or 8. the longer, the better (i do this in the fridge) and take it out when i turn on the oven (to 475F, i place a stone on the middle rack)

roll the dough out and let it rest/come up to room temp while you cook the sauce

i make my own sauce, too. start with 3 stalks celery, 3 carrots, 1 onion, add 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, (All chopped) and sometimes some mushrooms. let it all cook in some olive oil , add 2 cans of whole tomatoes (i think its 28oz cans) and cook for half an hour, add fresh basil, then puree with an immersion blender.

roll the dough a little more, add sauce, sliced mozzarella, toppings, bake for 15 minutes.

 
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Originally posted by: NSFW
I worked at Little Caesars for 6 years. We made all of our dough from scratch. I am willing to bet that I can still roll dough faster than anyone out there.

Its not hard. Mix ingredients, roll, let rise, flatten, bake, eat!
Click to expand...

I'd be willing to take that bet... 20+ years in the pizza business. The number of slices I've served or made is measured in millions.
Click to expand...

Name the time and place. I got my start at the busiest store on this side of the state. This was back in the PizzaPizza days, so we went through a ton of dough. Then they started with Customer Appreciation Day. We would sell over 1,000 pizzas in 10 hours. We learned that we had to do dough in stages, otherwise the walk in couldn't keep up. I spent too many nights to count in the store at 3am rolling dough and drinking beer.

 
THe recipe from Alton's show, Good Eats: Flat is Beautiful (chekc the torrent sites), is:

2T sugar
1T kosher salt
1T pure olive oil
3/4c warm water
1c bread flour
1tsp instant yeast
1c bread flour

He uses a mixer and starts with the paddle type blade and then switches to the hook after the dough is dough. Then sets it to medium for 15 minutes.
He lets it go in the fridge for 18-24 hours to let it rise slowly.

The one form my bread maker is:
1 3/8c water
4c bread flour
1T sugar
1 3/4t salt
1T margarine
2T dry milk
1 3/4t active dry yeast
 
You're not going to find a whole lot of variation in pizza dough recipes... the one I use is pretty much the same as GagHalfrunt's, except I put in two TBSP of sugar. That recipe came with my bread machine. Beyond the basic pizza dough recipe you can add things like garlic to give the crust some flavor

What will make a much bigger difference is the kind of pan you use. If you bake a pizza on a cookie sheet, the crust isn't going to taste like anything you'd get from a real pizza place. If you want crispy, very thin crust you should use a pan with ~1 cm holes like so: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinar...&qid=1236553146&sr=8-1 Pans with tiny holes suck. Big holes let the air through so the crust gets crispy.

If you want a slightly thicker, NY style crust, you want to use a pre-heated pizza stone.

If you want an even thicker crust, you're probably from Chicago. Step away from the pizza, take a trip to NY and experience good pizza.
 
Originally posted by: MovingTarget
Yeah, it isn't that hard. You don't need a bread machine if you are willing to spend a few minutes kneading.
Click to expand...

I'm too lazy to kneed. Bread machines use heat to speed up the rising, so you can have dough ready in a little over an hour instead of 3-4 hours. If I need to make a lot, I kneed it with my stand mixer. Too lazy to kneed. 😛
 
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: MovingTarget
Yeah, it isn't that hard. You don't need a bread machine if you are willing to spend a few minutes kneading.
Click to expand...

I'm too lazy to kneed. Bread machines use heat to speed up the rising, so you can have dough ready in a little over an hour instead of 3-4 hours. If I need to make a lot, I kneed it with my stand mixer. Too lazy to kneed. 😛
Click to expand...

stand mixers are the way to go, i make pretty pretty often, fuck kneading by hand. ive done it before, the worst was a brioche (that dough is extremely tough until you incorporate the butter) but ill never knead by hand again. way too much like work.
 
I haven't made my own dough, but out of the blue, I started baking up pizzas left and right at home. I made three in this past week, each one gets better and better. Next step, fresh, homemade dough. I finally perfected that perfect, crispy crust. Every homemade pizza I've eaten before the ones I've been making lately were soggy and tasted nothing like what I was used to from local pizza joints.
 
I cooked mine on a pizza stone and left the pizza on it while we were eating. Each piece I took was cripsier than the last since the stone continued to cook the pizza as it was sitting.
 
Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Well, trying this recipe for today:
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/article/46/17753

Just loaded up the bread machine to make it. Should be ready in about an hour.
Click to expand...

That recipe sounds like it would rise like crazy -- how did it turn out?

Here's the recipe i use from my bread-machine instructions:

3C flour
1C + 2T water, warmed
2T olive oil
2 1/2t yeast
1t sugar
1t salt
(my options: 1t cumin and/or 1t basil and/or 1t garlic powder and/or 1/2t pepper flakes)

If the recipe you made tasted too yeasty or was too bready, give mine a try
 
Originally posted by: NSFW
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Originally posted by: NSFW
I worked at Little Caesars for 6 years. We made all of our dough from scratch. I am willing to bet that I can still roll dough faster than anyone out there.

Its not hard. Mix ingredients, roll, let rise, flatten, bake, eat!
Click to expand...

I'd be willing to take that bet... 20+ years in the pizza business. The number of slices I've served or made is measured in millions.
Click to expand...

Name the time and place. I got my start at the busiest store on this side of the state. This was back in the PizzaPizza days, so we went through a ton of dough. Then they started with Customer Appreciation Day. We would sell over 1,000 pizzas in 10 hours. We learned that we had to do dough in stages, otherwise the walk in couldn't keep up. I spent too many nights to count in the store at 3am rolling dough and drinking beer.
Click to expand...

looks like we have ourselves a good ol' fashioned roll-off!
*cues music
 
Stovetop flatbreads made with pizza dough:

I make pizza dough all the time lately, but usually I don't make pizza with it. I make a 2 lb. dough (using 95% white bread flour, the rest whole wheat) in my bread machine and divide it in 4 and put in plastic containers in the fridge. I usually take it out of the machine 10-15 minutes early so the yeast isn't entirely worked up. The fermentation continues in the refrigerator. If I don't take it out early, the dough expands too quickly in the containers in the fridge.

I generally make flat breads on a stove-top griddle, using 1/2 of what is in one of the containers (i.e. 1/4 lb.). Usually I dip the dough in a combination of seeds (sesame, poppy, sunflower and pumpkin) before rolling out flat to about 9-10 inch diameter. I put the dough in the microwave after covering with seeds for about 10 seconds, flip and 10 seconds more to warm it up a bit before rolling.

Let sit on the warm griddle to rise if desired, or cook right away, no big difference. Put a high flame under the griddle lowering to medium when hot. Continue until brown, flip, brown some more. If more browning/firming is desired, continue to flip and cook. Cool on a wire rack. This is a current fave of mine.
 
Originally posted by: Iron Woode
I do all the time.

Its not that time consuming. The actual making takes maybe 15 - 20 mins. I let the dough rise for about an hour before rolling it out.

I made up my own recipe:

3 cups of flour
1 packet of yeast
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoon of oregano
2 tablespoon of basil
2 tablespoon of garlic powder (more if you want it stronger)
1 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
add as much water as needed to make a good dough ball.

makes 2 14 diameter pizzas or 2 panzeroties.
Click to expand...

I used to make a whole wheat crust. I'd make a bunch at a time and freeze them. I got lazy and out of the habit.

I used to oven bake bread at home, too. I loved throwing oregano or marjoram or thyme or basil or any other green spice I took a fancy to in the dough.

The smell from the oven alone as the spice hit baking temp . . .
rose.gif
 
Originally posted by: Kelemvor
I cooked mine on a pizza stone and left the pizza on it while we were eating. Each piece I took was cripsier than the last since the stone continued to cook the pizza as it was sitting.
Click to expand...

Whoa, you didn't take the stone out of the oven, did you?
 
Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Originally posted by: Kelemvor
I cooked mine on a pizza stone and left the pizza on it while we were eating. Each piece I took was cripsier than the last since the stone continued to cook the pizza as it was sitting.
Click to expand...

Whoa, you didn't take the stone out of the oven, did you?
Click to expand...

Of course I did. I don't leave it in there if I'm not using it... Just took it out and set it on top of the stove. Stayed hot for quite a while.
 
Originally posted by: Kelemvor
I cooked mine on a pizza stone and left the pizza on it while we were eating. Each piece I took was cripsier than the last since the stone continued to cook the pizza as it was sitting.
Click to expand...

OK, that brings up a question : I've been having a problem with my cheese cooking / browning too much, but the nice crispy crust has made it worth it. I'm almost to a perfect balance at this point, but find I have to compromise the crispy crust to preserve the cheese. Is leaving the pizza on the stone (but out of the oven) a good idea to help me brown the crust up more without continuing to cook the cheese? I might have to try this the next time around. I'm about 90% to a perfect pie, but would love it if I didn't brown the cheese at all and maintained the crust I've been getting lately.
 
I set my oven to 500 degrees (as high as it could go) as soon as I started to make the pizza and had the stone in the oven. I let it preheat and then sit there for about another 20 minutes so the stone got nice and hot. I then slid the pizza on to it and let it cook for 7 minutes and it was done. Took the pizza and stone out of the oven and set it on top.

Crust was already not soggy but it just got even crispier as it sat on the stone and kept baking.

Could take it out of the oven and let it sit for a while before eating and the crust would be crunchier on the first bite.
 
Originally posted by: NSFW
I worked at Little Caesars for 6 years. We made all of our dough from scratch. I am willing to bet that I can still roll dough faster than anyone out there.

Its not hard. Mix ingredients, roll, let rise, flatten, bake, eat!
Click to expand...

Wait, what?!? Little Caesars goes to the trouble to make their dough from scratch yet uses the nastiest little fake cheese cubes that don't melt?!? Talk about crazy priorities.

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
I don't leave it in there if I'm not using it
Click to expand...

You should, it's a thermal battery. Every time you use your oven it will cook better.
 
Ok, i dont get it.

I made pizza yesterday and the dough was gross because it never got crispy. It didnt even seem like it was cooked all the way. I took it out after 10 min and realized right away it wasnt right. So i let it cook for another 10 min until everything was burned on top and the crust was AWFUL.

Whats the deal?
 
What temp/time did you use?

Most pies are cooked at a quite high temp. THe ovens at the pizza shop where I worked kept at 550.

When I make at home - I usually use a stone, and set the oven to 500, the pizza should cook in less than 7 minutes (depending on the thickness of the crust.) TO tell if its done - lift up one edge and look at the bottom. Golden brown is what you want. The cheese look is much less important.

 
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