Dough problem

[Heifer]

My first problem encountered was mixing the dough.  I used a stand mixer 31/2 cups bread flour, 3/4 cup water plus salt,oil,sugar and yeast...  The recipe said it would take 3 to 4 minutes of mixing before the dough would form into a ball but my dough took about twenty before it balled.  I hope this will not result in a lousy pie which I will begin later.  Is that a usual occurrence?

[buceriasdon]

Your water ratio to flour is about 40%, quite low. 14.87 oz. flour into 6oz. water equals .40. Is this dough meant to be rolled out such as a thin and crispy would be? Also how much oil used to aid in workability?
Don

[Heifer]

I was using a recipe for thin slice pizza.  The dough was to be rolled out and I used 11/2 tablespoons of oil.  The pizza came out alright but was a bit bready and not as good as I hoped it would be.  Do you  have a good dough recipe that you would care to share.  Thanks.   

[The Dough Doctor]

Most home type, stand mixers, like the Hobart K5A have a very narrow dough hook configuration which does not do an especially good job of catching the dough, as a result, it may take a considerable time for it to sufficiently develop the gluten sufficiently for it to form a ball and actually begin mixing, so don't worry about the long mixing time. As for the bready crust condition, begin increasing the dough absorption to achieve a softer dough, this will expand more freely during the early baking stage (oven spring) resulting in a lighter, more porous crumb structure that will actually bake out better and produce a crispier finished crust texture.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[Heifer]

Do you have a recipe for thin crust pizza dough in weight measures?

[buceriasdon]

Heifer, I just posted in the September monthly challenge a thin crust pizza. I followed my suggestions for mixing adding the IDY and flour to the water. I mixed for 4 minutes with the dough hook, rolled the dough into a ball and placed it in the fridge overnight. Pulled the ball out and let it come to room temp. 40% hydration dough does not stretch easy, one trick I use is to let the skin rest then flip over and go at it again and I roll out an inch larger, so I rolled the skin out to 11 inches so when it shrinks back I hit my required 10 inches. I set a bowl on the skin and use a circle pizza cutter to trim then dock the skin. I don't as a rule parbake so my crust may not be as crispy as others. I simply top and bake right on my stone.
Don

[The Dough Doctor]

I have a number of different thin crust dough formulas posted in the RECIPE BANK at www.pmq.com. Go to their home page and the recipe bank will show up as a drop down under the heading of "culinary". Use the word "dough" for your search word.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor