"Just Add Water" Pizza Crust Mix question (or: heresy on the rise)

[SketchMan3]

I know this probably sounds like sacrilege to you all. I was just wondering if anyone here has every used Wal-Mart's "Great Value Pizza Crust: Just Add Water"? It actually tastes pretty good. No extra unpleasant flavors or bad textures.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Pizza-Crust-Mix-6.5-oz/10315272

Anyway, the instructions say after kneading it, to cover and let rest for 5 minutes. I didn't notice any rising over that short period of time, although it shaped up well. After that time, you're supposed to bake it for about 5 minutes, and THEN put the toppings on it and let it bake for about 8 minutes.

Has anyone every tried using that stuff, but letting it rest for a longer period of time? Would it rise more? Dry active yeast is listed in the ingredients, so it should rise, right?

Have you baked it in a more traditional way, topping the raw dough, without the pre-baking step?

(Hopefully you had a brief phase of "lacking integrity" in pizza making... lol. The problem with experts is that they have no experience with cheap beginner's products, nor do they want to. haha  )

Thanks!

[norma427]

I know this probably sounds like sacrilege to you all. I was just wondering if anyone here has every used Wal-Mart's "Great Value Pizza Crust: Just Add Water"? It actually tastes pretty good. No extra unpleasant flavors or bad textures.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Pizza-Crust-Mix-6.5-oz/10315272

Anyway, the instructions say after kneading it, to cover and let rest for 5 minutes. I didn't notice any rising over that short period of time, although it shaped up well. After that time, you're supposed to bake it for about 5 minutes, and THEN put the toppings on it and let it bake for about 8 minutes.

Has anyone every tried using that stuff, but letting it rest for a longer period of time? Would it rise more? Dry active yeast is listed in the ingredients, so it should rise, right?

Have you baked it in a more traditional way, topping the raw dough, without the pre-baking step?

(Hopefully you had a brief phase of "lacking integrity" in pizza making... lol. The problem with experts is that they have no experience with cheap beginner's products, nor do they want to. haha  )

Thanks!

SketchMan3,

If you are interested you might want to look through the thread at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,13686.0.html  or the thread at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,13931.0.html  I never tried the Walmart GreatValue pizza crust, but found in my other experimental pies using a longer ferment with pizza crust mixes, can give a better taste to the crust.

Norma

[SketchMan3]

Thanks so much for your reply. I'll definitely check out those threads thoroughly.

I just finished reading the first page of the "Mystery Pizza" thread. Haha, coincidentally, the first pizza that I made was from an old Betty Crocker recipe book. I wonder how similar they are...

Does the longer ferment affect the texture of the crust?

[norma427]

Thanks so much for your reply. I'll definitely check out those threads thoroughly.

I just finished reading the first page of the "Mystery Pizza" thread. Haha, coincidentally, the first pizza that I made was from an old Betty Crocker recipe book. I wonder how similar they are...

Does the longer ferment affect the texture of the crust?

SketchMan3,

When you have time, if you are interested you can read this post at the Weisenberger Pizza Crust thread and see the pictures of how a longer fermented dough (from a pizza crust mix) give a better texture to the crumb of the pizza at Reply 8 http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,13931.msg141219.html#msg141219
If you want to really get into making a delicious pizza, you might want to look at the one using Peter’s “Sukie” formula at Reply 74 http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,13686.msg137842.html#msg137842
That formula produced a very good pizza and it used the Bisquick Buttermilk Biscuit mix, in combination with Peter’s “goody bag”. There are also other pizzas, which in my opinion that were delicious on the Mystery Pizza thread when you have time to look through the long thread.  There are many possibilities of using a pizza crust mix to make different pizzas.

At least in my opinion I wouldn’t think the recipe from the Betty Crocker cook book you made a pizza from first, would be anything like the pizzas made on the above threads.

Good luck in using your pizza crusts mixes, so they will make better pizzas!  

Norma

[buceriasdon]

Yes the ingredients contain ADY but it doesn't say in what preportion. It also lists Baking Soda as a leavening, hence the short prep time to bake. I say give a longer rest period a try, but I doubt you will see much improvement.
Don

Ingredients.Enriched Bleached Flour (Bleached Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Soybean Oil, Dextrose, Leavening (Sodium Almuminum Phosphate, Baking Soda), Active Dry Yeast With Sorbitan Monostearate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate. Allergy Warning: Contains Wheat. May Contain Traces Of Milk, Eggs, Walnuts, Peanuts And Soy.

[SketchMan3]

A little update: The ADY does work. I let it sit for about 1-2 hours, and when I came back, it had risen, and had little air bubbles in it. And it was nice and stretchy. I could have probably gotten it to 16 inches.

Unfortunately, I forgot to oil the pan before I started stretching out the dough, so I had to stick it back in the bowl until I'd done that. Due to that, it lost some stretchiness, and I was too impatient to let it rest for much longer after that.

Anyway, I stretched it 14 inches in the pan, let it sit covered for awhile (just because), and then proceeded as normal.

It was better than when you let it sit for 5-10 minutes. And it was slightly thicker and crustier too.