Ok, since the forum was offline yesterday, here's the result of my pizza experiment.
As you know, I made two pizzas on Sunday. One using DKM's scaled down "Pizza Inn" recipe and the other using a "Soda Cracker" recipe out of a breadmaking book that I have.
To DKM's recipe, I added 1 tsp. of baking soda to see how it would affect the texture and taste of the crust. Results: The crust had good flavor, but its texture was all wrong. No flakiness at all. It reminded me of melba toast, although not nearly as hard and crunchy.
The "Soda Cracker" crust was the real winner here. It had a light and flakey crust with distinct layers (somewhat croissant like). Both my wife and I loved this crust, although it was too thin in my opinion. I am going to attempt this recipe again and make the crust a little thicker. I'll post the exact recipe later tonight. But, for now here's what I remember: bread flour, water, vegetable shortening, yeast, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, and malt syrup.
To make the dough, I followed the directions by rolling it out into a large thin sheet, then I folded it in half, and then in half again. I repeated this procedure several times. Then I docked, sauced, and topped the pizza. I used a cutter pan and baked at 500 degrees F. on the lowest rack in my oven. I think 500 degrees was a little too hot, since the bottom started to burn before the toppings were cooked. Next time I'll try 450.
All in all, I
really liked this crust. I loved the distinct layers and the flakiness. I am pretty sure that all the folding was the key here.
