5 Dough Test
I had 5 different doughs I wanted to try, so yesterday, I made them and let them rise 24 hours. All except one, were left on the counter for 24 hours. One was in the refrigerator, because it contained milk, and I wasn’t sure if that would sour if left out.
All pizzas were baked at 525F, even though the oven was set @ 550. I have a stone also.
The first dough was made with King Arthur “Perfect Pizza Blend” flour. It should be called “Perfect to throw away in the garbage”, as this was the worst of the 5 that I made. Mixed in my Kitchenaid: 3 ¼ cups flour, 1 ¼ tsp salt, 2 tbs olive oil, 1 ¼ cups warm water, 2tsp yeast (preactivated and then added). These are the directions on the bag. The flour contains unbleached AP, durum wheat flour, dough conditioner and baking powder.
I actually made this one twice: once with a 4 min pre-bake on the crust and once without. Baked for 8 minutes. It didn’t seem to make a difference, as both were stone dry, like a very dry bread stick and tasting like a cheap frozen pizza crust. I tossed it in the can.
The second dough was a high-gluten floured pizza using the “NY style” recipe from the book American Pie. This was my favorite of the 5. It had a soft, yet slightly crispy crust and not too dry. Baked for 10 min. This one is a keeper for me. This dough also rose the most out of the 5; it was gigantic! Very easy to work with. It’s on page 114 if you’re interested.
The third dough was King Arthur “Pizza Crust” mix. Small bag. Dough was soft and pliable. I found this to be an adequate crust; edible, but uninspiring. It took 3rd place in my taste test. Cooked for 8 min.
The fourth dough I decided to go for a stretch and make one using whole wheat. One word: Yuk. Tasted like wheat toast with tomato sauce. Hey, I tried…
The fifth and final is a recipe from American Pie - “Pizza Americana” on page 116. This was my 2nd favorite of the 5. It turned out to be really thick crust, about ½ inch throughout. It tasted sort of like fresh baked bread, but in a good way. The dough was very stiff to roll out, though. This is the one I had in the fridge for 24 hrs, and then let it sit out for 2hrs before making.
#2 takes the honors for me. I will make this my “standard” pizza from now on.
In Summary: The fancy pizza dough blend and pizza mix were not worth the money, in my opinion. The high gluten flour King Arthur sells though, is worth it.
