I wanted to make DKM’s Pizza Inn recipe for thin n’ crispy pizzas. But, I wanted to experiment with using different blends of flour, instead of the straight high-gluten flour.
One dough was 50% high-gluten and 50% OO flour. Another dough was straight AP flour. The third dough was 50% OO, 25% high-gluten and 25% cake flour (Pillsbury’s Soft As Silk brand). Several people insist that you use high-gluten flour, while a few have said AP is fine. In hindsight, I should have made a straight high-gluten dough to compare against the other three I made.
The dough was covered and then allowed to sit at room temperature for 6 hours and then placed in the refrigerator for 8 hours and then taken back out for another 7 hours. Why? I don’t know! I made the dough yesterday morning. Put in the fridge in the afternoon, and then took it back out before I went to bed.
All pizzas were par baked for 4 minutes in the pan @500F, and then baked for 10 minutes @ 500F. DKM’s recipe called for 475F. Most other pizza recipes I see say 550F, and most pizzerias try to get up in the 700F range, so I thought 500F would be the minimum. I baked each pie separately in a 13” cutter pan that cooked on my pizza stone.
The first pizza I made was the 50/50 dough (50% OO + 50%HG). It was VERY hard to roll out! I think that can’t be overstated since most people don’t have a sheeter. This was the hardest of the three doughs to roll out. The rolling pin wasn’t very effective. I used that in conjunction with a small glass jar (8 oz mayonnaise jar). The jar seemed to work better because I was able to concentrate more force in a smaller area, as opposed to a larger rolling pin. Not a very good way to do it, but I really had no choice. After 20 minutes, it was as thin as it was gonna get !
The dough had probably the best flavor out of the three. However, since the dough wasn’t rolled out perfectly even, it had areas where it was chewy and areas where it was crispy. My wife like this dough the best. It’s my 2nd favorite.
Next, is the AP dough. This was the worst of the the three doughs. It was however, the easiest to roll out, since it had the least amount of gluten. The dough was actually drier in consistency rolling out than the 50/50.
The AP pizza above, had by far the driest texture of the three. In fact, it was too dry. And the flavor was non-existent. Nothing! I won’t use AP for pizza anymore.
Lastly, the 50/25/25 (50% OO, 25% HG, 25% Cake Flour). I liked this one the best. It was the second easiest and second hardest to roll out. The ball was very dry.
Why did I like this one the best? It reminded me of what I recall as Pizza Hut’s thin ‘n crispy of the 1970’s: very crispy and flaky, yet just a hint of wetness on the top, but NOT soggy. The only problem with this dough and the other two is the lack of flavor. Very bland overall. I think that can be overcome, though. Either a yeast flavoring additive, garlic, more salt or a combination of the three. It hinted of a yeast flavor, but it wasn’t enough. Perhaps adding more yeast next time? I went with 1 ½ tsp, as per instructions. Anyway, it has a saltine cracker flavor right now, but not strong enough.
That’s it in a nutshell. I had read recipes before that swore by cake flour, so I think it’s worthwhile to pursue using it in some quantity. I’m going to try a 50/50 and a 75/25 HG/CF mix next time.
The sauce I used was an uncooked recipe:
28 oz can of 6 n 1’s.
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbs. Red wine vinegar
allowed to sit in fridge overnight. Very basic sauce; could use some work.
The cheese mix was 2/3 mozzerealla and 1/3 provolone.
