For any pizza there are 3 distinct components (dough, sauce, cheese/toppings) to deal with and a number of stages (4 come to mind right now - mix, rest, prep, bake). This article will look at the first component (dough) and the first 2 stages (mix, rest).
As I said earlier, I like to lurk on the boards and have built my own decent pizza recipe over the years. I tend to like the Papa John's/Domino's variety of dough. Some call this American style or Midwestern style, but it really is just kind-of Dinner-Roll style because it is a light-fluffy, sweet, hand tossed/stretched dough - your general purpose workhourse - your SUV of pizza dough - your right hand...well, you get the picture...it is quite versatile. It can be used for pizzas, breadsticks, cheesesticks (not the deepfried kind, but the other kind-shaped like a pizza dough and covered in garlic butter and cheese), and sweet pizzas (I have a favorite called Dutch Apple that I'll try to post about sometime.) I bet you could even make other stuff out of it - pretzels, bread, hats, clothes. Anyway on with the pizza dough makin'.
Skip to here for the tutorial!!
Some ground rules (and why we do it this way):
1) you need a scale, not measuring cups. why? different brands of flour compact differently, even the same brands of flour can be compacted differently based on storage and how it was shipped (i.e. your kids playing football with it might make it less compacted than if it were used as a bongo...but usually it just means that it settled in the semi on the way to the market).
2) you need a few basic tools - these are MUST HAVES (if you can improvise, I'll note to the side):
A dough docker - don't use a pie docker..it is too sharp and will cut holes in your pizza. Alternative: your knuckles and a hard surface. If someone says to dock the dough, just lay it on a hard surface and ram your knuckles into all over. You will achieve the same goal, but with sorer knuckles.
Pizza Screens of the appropriate size - I'd say these are mandatory. Alternative: You can try slotted non-stick pans, but they just don't perform the same. If you don't have them, order some online or go to your nearest pizza/restaurant supply house and get some..they usually aren't more than a couple bucks apiece...remember to season them too..this means spray oil or smear grease onto it and stick it in the oven until it turns brown...it'll smoke up the house....once!)
Pizza Peel - not mandatory, but definitely a 'nice-to-have'. I picked mine up when i got my screens. Alternative: use some oven mitts, but be careful, a hot screen can fold in the middle if you only support it from the edges.
Pizza Cutter - not mandatory, but another 'nice-to-have'. I went to a Kohl's and they had these big fat KitchenAid Pizza Cutters with a 4.5-5" blade and very heavy. KitchenAid also makes a smaller one, but I'd defintely recommend the monster..I now have 3 of them. Two of them survived a year in a Pizza Restaurant and are still in perfect working order. Alternative: use a butcher knife, but be careful, those things are sharp.
KitchenAid mixer WITH a dough hook - This is an absolute, mandatory, must have, required item (unless you have something bigger like a Hobart or Blodgett). You can't properly make dough unless you have a good solid mixer with a dough hook, or plan to hand mix it for about 4 hours.
Now that we have the major tools that you might not usually have available in your house listed above, lets get on to the recipe and prepartion:
I mentioned earlier that I created my own recipe...low-and-behold, my own recipe is nearly identical to many other people's own recipes..heh..I think this is where baking and chemistry collide. It is like mixing black powder...there are millions of ways of doing it, but only a few 'right' ways (depending on what you are trying to accomplish). I was going to list my recipe, but found that on pizzamaking.com, under the American Pizza section in the forums, someone named Randy has created a much more concise version of the ingredient list on pizzamaking.com here but here is the list of ingredients :
16 oz High Gluten Flour (Hard Red Spring Wheat) (I used King Arthur Bread Flour - make sure you use a good bread flour or your pizza will come out dense)
9.7 oz Water by weight(warm 120deg. F) (this is the same as 300 ml, so if you have a metric measuring cup it may be easier to measure it that way..also make sure the water is filtered..I live in TX and the tap water has a reasonable amount of scale/lime which hinders my proofing process and also causes a wierd aftertaste)
2 Tbsp raw sugar (I used table sugar, which I was quite happy with)
1 Tbsp Honey (I used kroger's house brand)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil (I used walmart brand)
2 tsp Salt (I just used table salt)
2 1/4 tsp of bread machine yeast or active dry yeast (I buy those big jars of bread machine yeast..the stuff works great)
There are a couple ways to mix, but since this is mostly based on Randy's recipe, lets use that one:
1) In a bowl mix flour and salt and yeast
2) add sugar and honey to water
3) put 1/2 flour mix and yeast into mixing bowl
4) add water/sweetener mix to the mixing bowl
5) mix on lowest speed (stir) for 2 minutes to combine (always WITH a dough hook)
6) add oil and the rest of flour to the mixing bowl
7) mix on low (setting 2) for 6 minutes
8) let the dough rest in the bowl for 5 minutes
9) mix on low (setting 2) for another 6 minutes
10) if the dough is a bit TOO moist (more than 3 inch diameter circle at the bottom of the mixer) then add a tablespoon of flour and mix for another minute.
11) remove dough and roll into a ball
At this point you can do a couple things - you have completed the mixing step and now it is time to rest, so grab a beer, turn on the tv...um...oh..I mean...take the dough, put it in a container (I like the glassware ones that have the rubber tops) and stick it in the fridge. It must cool down and relax..it's had a hard day. Give it at a minimum 1 hr, but the longer it relaxes, the better/more flavorful it'll become. I usually like to let mine relax for 1-2 days in the fridge.
So to close out my first article, you've completed the most complex part of any pizza, the dough. The dough has been mixed and is now resting, thus completing the first 2 stages of making your pizza. Keep an eye out on the blog and I'll show you how to finish it up into a wonderful pizza.
