Wondering wow to make the best pizza crust recipe? Read this, and wonder no more.
Ingredients:
- .25 oz. packet of active dry yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon of granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup 110 degree water
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
\"Pizza Recipe\"
Method:
- Pour the water into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and the yeast. Allow the mixture to rest for a minute or two.
- Add the extra virgin olive oil and salt.
- Add the flour.
- Mix. A counter-top mixer with a dough hook attachment makes this step easier; however, a fork can be used until the dough becomes too sticky. Once the dough is at the really sticky point, push off the dough that has collected around the fork prongs with your thumb and finger and continue to mix by hand.
- When the dough has been thoroughly mixed, knead for two to three minutes. Some people like to knead the dough on a flour covered countertop It is just as easy to continue to knead the dough in the same mixing bowl.
- Cover the dough with a dry towel. Allow the dough to proof for three to four hours at room temperature. Do not place the dough in the refrigerator. If you do not have the time to wait for the dough to proof, then substitute more water for the extra virgin olive oil. When using only water, you may have to adjust the amount of water and/or flour depending upon the consistency of the dough.
- Divide the dough in half and form into balls. Proofed dough balls can be stored refrigerated between five and seven days or sometimes longer. For longer lasting dough, skip step six. When the stored dough gets puffy and/or bubbly, it has gone bad and needs to be thrown away.
This dough recipe is for two thin crust pizzas.
Stretching the Dough:
Method One:
To hand stretch, punch the middle of the dough ball with the palm of your hand. Then, press around the edges with your fingers, leaving about ¼ inch width between the absolute edge of the dough and your fingertips. Lay both hands on the dough so that if you are right handed, your right index fingertip lies on top of your left index fingertip. Spread your fingers out wide, and your thumb tips should come together to form a straight line.
Your fingertips should be resting in the line you made at the edge of the dough. Rotate your hands at the wrists, keeping your fingers against the dough. Continue stretching the dough in this manner until you have an approximately twelve inch round dough skin. Make sure there is enough flour on the countertop to keep the dough from sticking.
A variation on this method is called "slapping the dough." To do this, stretch out the dough in the above prescribed method, but stop once the dough skin is slightly wider than your hand. Then pick up the skin in your one hand. If you are right handed, pick it up with your right hand, but if you are left handed pick it up with your left hand. Make sure the skin is hanging from your fingertips.
Now toss the dough skin to your other hand, catching it with your fingertips. With each catch of the dough, the palm of your hand should hit or "slap" the middle of the dough skin, while your fingers will catch at the edges and stretch the skin out a little bit at a time.
Method Two:
Make sure there is enough flour on the countertop to keep the dough from sticking, and then flatten out the dough ball with your hands. Make a fist with your right hand, and hang the dough skin on that fist. Make a fist with your left hand and place it underneath the dough opposite your right. Move your fists around the edges of the dough, keeping them opposite each other on the dough skin until you have an approximately twelve inch dough skin.
Method Three:
Make sure there is enough flour on the countertop to keep the dough from sticking, and then flatten out the dough ball with your hands. Take a rolling pin to the dough skin, and roll out the dough as thin as you can get it.
Dough stretching methods one and two produce a slightly thicker hand tossed taste. Using a rolling pin forces all of the air out of the dough skin, and will create a very cracker like crust.
Flavoring the dough:
The dough can be flavored two different ways. The simplest method is to visit your dried spice rack. At the point where you knead the dough, add dry granulated garlic, basil, oregano, or whatever you feel like.
The second method involves controlling the type of oil you use in your dough mixture. Extra virgin olive oil is not necessary to the recipe. You can use any type of oil you want-vegetable oil, corn oil, almond oils, or even avocado oil. Or you can be creative and combine different types of oil. Extra virgin olive oil is more of the traditional oil used in making pizza crusts; however, each oil will give you a very different taste profile.
Another way of controlling the type of oil you use is to infuse the olive oil with herbs. To infuse the olive oil, heat the oil in a sauce pan until it is warm. Have a bottle ready stuffed with the herbs and spices of your choice. Pour the warm oil into the bottle, cap, and store in a dark, cool place for two weeks. Next, strain out the herbs and refrigerate the oil until you are ready to use. If you use garlic, make sure you refrigerate the oil right away though.
Storing the Dough:
Though you can, raw dough should never be frozen. Freezing breaks down the water inside the molecules and makes food in general mushy. If you really want to freeze your dough skins, stretch them out, bake them half-way through, and then wrap them tightly.
Cooking the Pizza:
The problem with cooking pizza at home is that most people don't have a pizza stone. A pizza must be cooked from the top and the bottom at the same time, and a pizza stone facilitates this. A cookie sheet slows the heat reaching the bottom of the crust, and the middle of the crust will not be as crispy as the outer edges.
Fortunately, a cheap pizza stone will cost only around twenty-five dollars. If you want, you can spend several hundred dollars on a pizza stone too. If you don't want to invest in a pizza stone, go ahead and use a cookie sheet, but par-bake the dough skin without any of the toppings. Once par-baked, pull the crust out, allow to cool, then load on the toppings and cook the rest of the way.
The Best Pizza Recipe Ever
Another best pizza crust recipe is available at this how to guides site.
Ray T. Lewis is even more famous for his pizza crust recipe than he is for his articles.