Author Topic: My american style pizza recipe with photo (Read 11141 times)

pizzaisgood · « **on:** February 22, 2007, 08:12:02 PM »

I have finally come up with a pizza dough that I am truly happy with. I get good dough spring and the bottom crisps up nicely while it is slightly chewy and has a wonderful texture. I use Harvest king or King arthur bread flour. The King arthur produces a heavier, chewier dough while the Harvest king produces a lighter dough. Both are excellent but I prefer the Harvest King.

I make the dough in a bread machine on the dough making cycle. I do nothing special at all, I just put the ingredients in the bread machine and turn it on. When the dough is smooth and elastic I remove it.

This makes two 17 oz dough balls

Harvest king or King arthur bread flour 20 oz by weight
Cold Water (filtered) 12 oz by weight
2 Tbs raw sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs bread machine yeast.

Coat the dough ball in olive oil and put it a covered bowl and refrigerate for 2-3 days.

Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and stretch while cold. It will stretch very easily. Top as desired and bake at 550 on a screen for 6-8 minutes or until browned nicely.

Bryan S · « **Reply #1 on:** February 22, 2007, 11:58:14 PM »

Great looking pizza, love all them bubbles in the crust.

pizzaisgood · « **Reply #2 on:** February 24, 2007, 04:54:22 PM »

I made some more dough yesterday. Here are some photos of my pizza from start to finish. This is a 20 hour raise on the dough.

pizzaisgood · « **Reply #3 on:** February 24, 2007, 04:55:39 PM »

1st pic 2 minutes in the oven.
2nd pic 4 minutes in the oven.
3rd pic completed in 6 minutes.

Peggy Fair · « **Reply #4 on:** February 28, 2007, 09:43:05 AM »

In your opinion, do you think a dough mixer is necessary to achieve this type of crust?

Randy · « **Reply #5 on:** February 28, 2007, 10:25:30 AM »

Consider adding a little oil to give your crust a little color.

Pete-zza · « **Reply #6 on:** February 28, 2007, 11:09:53 AM »

In my opinion, the light coloration is more symptomatic of a dough with low residual sugar levels at the time of baking, due possibly to overfermentation. I calculate that the yeast (bread machine yeast = IDY) in the stated dough recipe to be about 1.6%, by weight of flour. That exceeds the maximum amount of IDY recommended for a so-called "emergency" dough that is intended to be used within a few hours. That maximum rate is 1%. Also, a bread machine will often add a lot of heat to the dough such that, together with the exceptionally high yeast levels, will cause the dough to ferment very quickly, even while in the refrigerator. Even with over 4% sugar, by weight of flour, it's possible that the yeast ran out of food, or else other biochemical activities were affected such that there was insufficient residual sugar in the dough at the time of baking as to contribute to crust coloration. I would cut back significantly on the yeast, and I would also reduce the amount of sugar. Doing that should also extend the useful life of the dough.

Peter

pizzaisgood · « **Reply #7 on:** February 28, 2007, 01:06:31 PM »

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am going to make two dough's, one with a 1/2 tsp yeast and one with 1 tsp and see how it works out. I will post pictures of the results in a few days. Peggy, unfortunately I do not own a dough mixer so I cannot tell you if the results would be better by using one. If someone would like to give the recipe a try in a mixer and post the results it would be appreciated.

Thanks Adam

Peggy Fair · « **Reply #8 on:** February 28, 2007, 04:40:51 PM »

Quote from: pizzaisgood on February 28, 2007, 01:06:31 PM

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am going to make two dough's, one with a 1/2 tsp yeast and one with 1 tsp and see how it works out. I will post pictures of the results in a few days. Peggy, unfortunately I do not own a dough mixer so I cannot tell you if the results would be better by using one. If someone would like to give the recipe a try in a mixer and post the results it would be appreciated.

Thanks Adam

Sorry, I meant to ask you if you thought that this dough could be made WITHOUT a bread machine. I don't own a bread machine or a mixer, I use my hands. lol

pizzaisgood · « **Reply #9 on:** February 28, 2007, 05:11:35 PM »

Quote from: Peggy Fair on February 28, 2007, 04:40:51 PM

Sorry, I meant to ask you if you thought that this dough could be made WITHOUT a bread machine. I don't own a bread machine or a mixer, I use my hands. lol

Oh sorry for the mix up. I would say that you certainly could. I would recommend combining all the dry ingredients less the raw sugar. I would dissolve the raw sugar in the water as it is a corse sugar and then just hand kneed from there.

Peggy Fair · « **Reply #10 on:** March 02, 2007, 12:49:10 PM »

Quote from: pizzaisgood on February 28, 2007, 05:11:35 PM

Oh sorry for the mix up. I would say that you certainly could. I would recommend combining all the dry ingredients less the raw sugar. I would dissolve the raw sugar in the water as it is a corse sugar and then just hand kneed from there.

Okay, so then would I just substitute the bread machine yeast for a regular yeast like Fleischman's if I intended to replicate your recipe by hand, or should I just use the bread machine yeast? And when you say raw sugar, do you mean just regular white sugar, or that brown "sugar in the raw" product? Sorrry for so many questions!

pizzaisgood · « **Reply #11 on:** March 02, 2007, 01:13:11 PM »

Well Pete-zza nailed it on the head. Less yeast = better browning. I made my dough with 1 tsp of yeast and let it raise in the refrigerator for two days. It browned up better but is a bit chewier. It is very good though. I have another dough made with 1/2 tsp of yeast still raising in the fridge I will make that one tomorrow or Sunday and see how it does. Thanks for the help everyone. The one pictured is topped with real mozzarella (not the bagged stuff) and Gouda cheese.

If you are interested here is my sauce recipe

28 oz can crushed tomatoes
3 tbs of tomato paste
3/4 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried majoram
1 tsp minced garlic Polaner or similar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp olive oil.

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk. Refrigerate for 24 hours before use. No cooking necessary!

pizzaisgood · « **Reply #12 on:** March 02, 2007, 01:39:05 PM »

Quote from: Peggy Fair on March 02, 2007, 12:49:10 PM

Okay, so then would I just substitute the bread machine yeast for a regular yeast like Fleischman's if I intended to replicate your recipe by hand, or should I just use the bread machine yeast? And when you say raw sugar, do you mean just regular white sugar, or that brown "sugar in the raw" product? Sorry for so many questions!

Bread machine yeast and Instant dry yeast are the same thing. I think Fleischmanns calls it rapid rise.
As for the sugar I use "Sugar in the raw".

pizzaisgood · « **Reply #13 on:** March 02, 2007, 05:00:23 PM »

Will adding oil to the dough make it softer? It has become a bit chewier than I like with less yeast.

Pete-zza · « **Reply #14 on:** March 02, 2007, 06:10:50 PM »

pizzaisgood,

You might wait until you see the results with your remaining dough ball before making changes.

I recently addressed the chewiness factor for another member at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,4740.msg40264.html#msg40264 (Reply 1). Possibly some of the suggestions mentioned there may be helpful. For example, in addition to adding fat to your dough, along with the sugar, you could cut the Harvest King with a bit of all-purpose flour. I would start first with the addition of oil (about 3-4%, by weight of flour) and then decide based on the results you get whether you want to change the flour blend.

Please keep us posted with your results.

Peter

pizzaisgood · « **Reply #15 on:** March 03, 2007, 06:19:23 PM »

Well I took a different approach to tonights dinner. I pulled the dough from the refrigerator this morning, heated a bowl of water in the microwave and placed the dough in the microwave and "proofed" the dough like this for several hours, while periodically reheating the water. I then made the pizza on a cookie sheet rather than on a screen. It turned out very well and was tender and not nearly as chewy as yesterday's dough. This one was made with 1/2 tsp of yeast and a 3 day ferment. The dough browned up better than ever. I think I am definitely on the right track and my recipe is improving.

Pete-zza · « **Reply #16 on:** March 03, 2007, 06:49:55 PM »

pizzaisgood,

I agree that there has been a marked improvement in your results.

I have a couple of other ideas to offer. First, while you didn't indicate whether you reduced the amount of sugar, if you found the bottom of the crust to be too dark for your taste, reducing the sugar should reduce the amount of darkening because of reduced caramelization of the sugar. To me, the bottom crust looks fine, but I am going only by the photo you posted.

Second, I forgot that you were using a bread maker. That may have also contributed to the chewiness of the crust because of the way that most bread makers work in kneading the dough. I have written on this subject on several occasions, including at this post: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,576.msg17113.html#msg17113 (Reply 260). You might get some useful ideas or tips from reading that post, as well as the embedded link in that post. It may turn out that your bread maker, or the particular way you use it, may avoid some of the problems I discussed in the referenced posts.

Peter

pizzaisgood · « **Reply #17 on:** March 03, 2007, 09:38:55 PM »

Pete-zza

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I have not reduced the sugar in my dough yet , however I am thinking of replacing the sugar with a lesser amount of honey the next time I make it as well as adding some oil to the recipe. I am also thinking of buying a Kitchenaid mixer in the very near future. I have tried using the pause feature and letting the dough autolyse, following some of the kneading/mixing techniques suggested by Randy as well as others on this site to the best of my ability within the constraints of my bread machine, but the resulting texture of the dough is always the same. I get decent voids in the dough and plenty of air bubbles and I do my best to preserve the gases in the dough through careful stretching. During the cooking process you can hear the dough hissing in the oven.

What are the immediate benefits of using the mixer? It seems as if the bread machine takes about 20 minutes to get the dough to a nice consistency, is my dough possibly being over kneaded? How important is the kneading technique and what kind of difference can it make in the texture and consistency of a dough? Sorry for all the questions but I am just trying to learn all that I can here.

Pete-zza · « **Reply #18 on:** March 04, 2007, 10:22:51 AM »

pizzaisgood,

My view is that if you are satisfied with the results achieved from using your bread machine, you shouldn't feel compelled to rush out and buy a stand mixer unless, of course, you foresee sufficient other uses for the stand mixer. Not all bread machines are alike but even the ones that are prone to kneading the dough too long or producing too much heat in the dough (as is the case with my machine), there are usually ways to compensate for these effects, as I discussed in the posts I linked in my earlier reply. Many people, including professionals like Tom Lehmann and Evelyne Slomon, tend to feel that a pizza dough should be slightly underkneaded to produce the best results, including a crumb that is light and airy with a lot of irregularly-sized and shaped "voids". If a dough is kneaded too much, as many bread machines are prone to do, then the crumb can be "tight" or "dense", with small voids of similar size and shape. From what you have said, the crumb you have been getting is quite good. So, you may not need a stand mixer.

From my perspective, one advantage to a stand mixer is that it is somewhat easier to control the sequencing of ingredients and in controlling finished dough temperature. When using the bread machine, I tend to use the sequencing of ingredients specified by the manufacturer. However, I suspect that it is possible to alter that sequence. I just haven't devoted much thought to doing so. In some respects, I think a bread machine with the right kneading paddles (shape and spacing) does a better job of kneading than many stand mixers. However, if one uses a spiral hook with a stand mixer, such as with some of the more recent KitchenAid models, then the mixing and kneading of the dough ingredients should be much improved over those models, like mine, using the C-hook. You might be able to make a larger dough batch with a good stand mixer than with many bread machines, but if you aren't making a lot of pizzas at one time, then that advantage goes away. If you decide to go with a stand mixer, I would take a close look at those models with the spiral hook. Those models will usually be more expensive, but amortized over time the added cost is quite minimal.

Peter

turbosundance · « **Reply #19 on:** March 08, 2007, 11:43:08 AM »

I have my bread machine modified. It now has manual control of the motor speed and on/off. I gutted the machine and removed all the electronic controls and heating element. I have been using the machine to knead my dough for a couple months now with great results. I knead on slow for about a minute to combine the ingredients then usually 5 minutes or less (usually much less) on full speed to knead. This creates a very open and airy crust with with irregular size voids.