How is this Pizza recipe?

[Chris941]

How is this pizza recipe? i want your full opinion! i just made it for a type of Margherita pizza.

       Proofing yeast                                                             

1 teaspoon of dry, active yeast

3 teaspoons of all purpose flour

1 cup of warm water (about 100-102 degrees F) >>>>>> mix together in a bowl and wait about 10 minutes, if doesn't foam completely by then, mix around with a wisk to see if foam appears.


      Dough
3 cups of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of dry, active yeast (PROOFED)

2 teaspoons of kosher salt, give or take

2 teaspoons of granulated onion, give or take



Directions:

Put flour, salt, and granulated onion in mixer and add proofed yeast, mix on low until forms  soft, smooth and somewhat sticky
knead dough and let it rest, put it in a large oiled bowl and cover to rise.



So what do you think? opinions? how could i make this better?


Thanks,
Chris

[buceriasdon]

Chris, Have you baked the pizzas yet? How did they turn out?
Don

[Chris941]

Chris, Have you baked the pizzas yet? How did they turn out?
Don

Don,
 
I did try it today and it did not turn out good. I originally found this recipe at http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recipes/bread_pizza.html and thought i would try it, however with the exact recipe i had to add a little more flour and water because the dough was not turning out great. Plus i threw in some granulated onion for a little flavor (dough's gotta have a flavor!)

The pizza dough was horrible for shaping out, every time you would try to shape the edges or stretch it, it would tear and go back to normal shape.

When baking,

the dough was ok for baking, though it had a certain taste to it, like yeast.

looks like i'll have to find a new recipe, unless someone can fix this one!!!

Chris

[Malanga]

I'm just a rookie here, but I would advise against adding onion into the dough recipe.  Let your dough speak for itself, while the other flavors can come in later.

If you don't have a scale yet (which you should totally look in to)  then it's a bit tougher to nail down your dough.  Regardless, you can still pull it off.  

It almost sounds like you overworked the dough a bit.  You could also try an extended cold fermentation for a few days to the let the yeast and the dough do their thing together.  I've noticed some great aroma coming from the container after a few days in the fridge.  Check out this recipe as a good starting point:

NYC style
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/new-york-style-pizza.html

I've only made a few batches of dough using this recipe so far, maybe 5, and without a scale, but have cold fermented for a few days every time.  I have been very happy with the taste of my dough, although I think I have been overworking the dough a bit too much as well. You did mention the Margerhita pie, so I'm wondering what kind of baking temps you are working with.  You'll need a pretty strong oven to pump out a Neapolitan style, so maybe you are aiming for more of NY style?  Not sure.  That said, you need decent temps to make a solid NYC as well.  (Search around about this; loads of info on the site about the ranges you should aiming for).

Anyways, I'm sure someone with more experience can chime in.  I just say, keep it simple, don't overwork your dough, consider and extended fermentation, and be persistently observant throughout the entire process.  Good luck man!    

[Chris941]

I'm just a rookie here, but I would advise against adding onion into the dough recipe.  Let your dough speak for itself, while the other flavors can come in later.

If you don't have a scale yet (which you should totally look in to)  then it's a bit tougher to nail down your dough.  Regardless, you can still pull it off. 

It almost sounds like you overworked the dough a bit.  You could also try cold fermenting for  a few days to the let the yeast do it's thing.  Check out this recipe as a good starting point:

NYC style
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/new-york-style-pizza.html

I've only made a few batches of dough using this recipe so far, maybe 5, and without a scale, but have cold fermented for a few days every time.  I have been very happy with the taste of my dough, although I think I have been overworking the dough a bit too much as well. You did mention the Margerhita pie, so I'm wondering what kind of temps you are working with.  You'll need a pretty strong oven to pump out a Neapolitan style, so maybe you are aiming for more of NY style?  Not sure. 

Anyways, I'm sure someone with more experience can chime in.  I just say, keep it simple, don't overwork your dough, consider and extended fermentation, and be persistently observant throughout the entire process.  Good luck man!   

Malanga,

i do have a scale, what happened was i had taken it out of the fridge and let it rest a little, because pizza is easier to work with when a little cold! tried pressing it down and forming the edges but would shrink back no matter how many times i tried! i tried hand stretching and it would tear. I was trying to make a copy of a Neapolitan style but i was using a regular convection oven at 375 degrees F. But i guess i am looking into a NY style. Thank you fro your comment Malanga! i'm trying to build the ultimate pizza dough recipe, so i'm always learning!

Chris

P.S: i'll check out the recipe link! thanks!

[buceriasdon]

Chris, Like so many online recipes, that one is filled with instructions that are just plain wrong. Use a scale if you have one, trust me it makes correcting dough problems so much easier. I suggest going to dough tools here on the forum.  http://www.pizzamaking.com/dough_calculator.html
You can also access the basic calculator by clicking on the Pizza Making logo at the top of the page. Proceed to fill in the blanks using the suggested percents and you will see how to come up with your own recipe. I would for the sake of gaining experience recommend using the recommended percents and then adjust from there.
Don

[pythonic]

Chris,

I always find that room temp dough is much much easier to shape.  When it's cold it will shrink back and tear.  I recommend that you go into the type of pizza forum on this site you want to make (NY, American, cracker, Chicago...etc) and get a new recipe from one on this site.  That's how I started out.  I just looked around for some great pizza pics and got the recipe on how to make them.  Good luck in your pizza making journey.

[Chris941]

Chris,

I always find that room temp dough is much much easier to shape.  When it's cold it will shrink back and tear.  I recommend that you go into the type of pizza forum on this site you want to make (NY, American, cracker, Chicago...etc) and get a new recipe from one on this site.  That's how I started out.  I just looked around for some great pizza pics and got the recipe on how to make them.  Good luck in your pizza making journey.

Pythonic,

Room temperature dough is much easier to shape? if cold dough shrinks back and tears ( sort of cold in this dough that i made) i'll remember room temp. Thanks! any tips on how to make the recipe better?

Chris

[Chris941]

Chris, Like so many online recipes, that one is filled with instructions that are just plain wrong. Use a scale if you have one, trust me it makes correcting dough problems so much easier. I suggest going to dough tools here on the forum.  http://www.pizzamaking.com/dough_calculator.html
You can also access the basic calculator by clicking on the Pizza Making logo at the top of the page. Proceed to fill in the blanks using the suggested percents and you will see how to come up with your own recipe. I would for the sake of gaining experience recommend using the recommended percents and then adjust from there.
Don

Thanks for the tip Don! many pizza recipes are different, and they are wrong!. What are your opinions on putting sugar in the dough, doesnt that activate yeast? and would you have to proof dough or could you just throw it in with the water and such?

Chris

[pythonic]

Chris,

What type of crust are u trying to make?

[Chris941]

Chris,

What type of crust are u trying to make?

I'm trying to make a somewhat thin but still kind of thick, and sort of chewy, something great for margherita pizzas or so.

[buceriasdon]

Chris, Not sure what you mean but, I add salt and sugar if used to the amount of water required and place that in the mixer bowl and stir. I use Instant Dry Yeast which I mix with the flour amount and maybe a half cup at a time with the mixer on low add to the water. Once a dough ball has started to form I add oil if called out for in the recipe. I generally shoot for a two day cold ferment so I take the dough ball out of the mixer while still somewhat craggy, divide into dough balls, roll into a ball, oil lightly and place in plastic bags or Rubber Maid containers and place in the fridge. Because of the extended time in the fridge I use very small .17 to .3 percent yeast. Not sure if that answers your question. With the low heat of your oven I think the inclusion of oil as a tenderiser for the crust and aid in working the dough ball and the addition of sugar to help with browning might be in order.
Don

[Chris941]

Chris, Not sure what you mean but, I add salt and sugar if used to the amount of water required and place that in the mixer bowl and stir. I use Instant Dry Yeast which I mix with the flour amount and maybe a half cup at a time with the mixer on low add to the water. Once a dough ball has started to form I add oil if called out for in the recipe. I generally shoot for a two day cold ferment so I take the dough ball out of the mixer while still somewhat craggy, divide into dough balls, roll into a ball, oil lightly and place in plastic bags or Rubber Maid containers and place in the fridge. Because of the extended time in the fridge I use very small .17 to .3 percent yeast. Not sure if that answers your question. With the low heat of your oven I think the inclusion of oil as a tenderiser for the crust and aid in working the dough ball and the addition of sugar to help with browning might be in order.
Don

Don,
Thanks for giving me the tip! I'll remember  Oil as a tenderizer and sugar to brown!! Now, how exactly does the crust brown? I tried today and the sauce kind of burnt a little on the crust but the color was not all there. Found out I was using a full cup of water instead of 1/2 so that probably made I big difference!

[buceriasdon]

Let me make sure I am understanding your oven temperature. It can't go any higher than 375? That is the most it can reach?

[Chris941]

Let me make sure I am understanding your oven temperature. It can't go any higher than 375? That is the most it can reach?

It can go much higher, I know it can go to 500, but haven't checked any higher

[buceriasdon]

Thank you Chris for the information. You need all the heat you can get. If you really want to make a decent pizza you need to purchase a pizza stone and preheat your oven at maximum temp for perhaps and hour with the stone placed low in the oven. Do you have a broiler in the oven or below? High heat will make or break a pizza.
Don

[Chris941]

Thank you Chris for the information. You need all the heat you can get. If you really want to make a decent pizza you need to purchase a pizza stone and preheat your oven at maximum temp for perhaps and hour with the stone placed low in the oven. Do you have a broiler in the oven or below? High heat will make or break a pizza.
Don

Don,
Yup I believe I do! And thank YOU for the info!