DennisLinkletter Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 After seeing Stewsans pizza, I just had to try one. I took the easy road and ordered dough from the local bakery.. Brought it home, threw a lump the size of a cantaloupe in the fridge and woke up to a basketball sizelump. I cut some off, floured up the board and using a wine bottle as a roller tried to roll out a pizza.. Not much expierience here and had to laugh as it was so elastic that it just kept shrinking back to a small thick lump.. Took me a while to figure out I needed to add flour and dry it out a bit to get it to stay put. Oh well live, learn and laugh. I used a basic tomato base with thin slice tomatoes, fresh basil and Eetalian spices I use for my tomat peescetti. Topped that with mozzarella, slivered red, yellow and green bell peppers, shrooms and pulled pork. It tasted as good as it looked. About 6-8 minutes on the upper sear grill at about 740ºf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Looks great! But is that a cricket leg up at the top of the pie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trish Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Looks great! But is that a cricket leg up at the top of the pie? Actually I was thinking inspirational until you posted that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Childhood memories Looks beautiful, Dennis! I'd like a slice, too! No offense to the chef, but I'll take mine without crickets. Sometimes letting the dough sit outside the refrigerator a bit will help with elasticity. I mean, it won't rebound quite so much if it's less cold. I did a pizza supper for company once. Made enough dough for a couple personal sized per person, and set out all sorts of toppings. Cooked thin-sliced beef and caramelized onions was one that went over big. So did shredded chicken. It would be more fun if it were on the KK! Get that extra roasty flavor that no regular oven can match. Hint: Grandma (Anna Lucia - so she knew from old country pizza!) used to put a thin layer of bread crumbs over the rolled crust. That would absorb the extra liquid from the tomatoes (home made canned, usually) that she'd put on. She'd crush the whole canned tomatoes in her hand, and spread them here and there over the crumbs. And a couple anchovies broken up and put here and there, pushed into the dough. Fresh basil. Very little cheese, but some grated mozzarella and romano. Sometimes onions on it. All cooked on a cookie sheet with sides, so it was a big rectangle. Now THAT was a treat! Ah, childhood memories! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Looks great Dennis, Every pizza I've made keeps getting better. One day I will use the "Puck" dough recipe, until then I've had good luck with the crust in the tube(Pillsbury) .Hope I don't perfect my method too soon, Friends and family are very eager to try my experiments!(No Bugs though). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted October 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 No bugs.. only pulled pork. I'm beginning to think that I'll never live down those bug posts.. I guess I need to get Stewsan to post some bug grilling pictures to draw this special attention away from yours truly.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Re: No bugs.. only pulled pork. I'm beginning to think that I'll never live down those bug posts.. Let's just say we now have a "healthy suspicion" of stuff you cook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkchop Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 elastic dough... if it's really elastic, let it rise longer, punch it down, and rise a second time. if you let it rest a bit after in the fridge, it shoud roll nice and easy. you might also consider letting a dough sit overnite wrapped in plastic after it's risen twice, to let the yeast ferment in it a little bit. awesome flavor there! good pizza dough isn't always "fresh" pizza dough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trish Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Dennis wrote: I'm beginning to think that I'll never live down those bug posts.. I'm personally scarred for life. Haunted with flashbacks of those things. I think I see them in your avatar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 I'm personally scarred for life. Haunted with flashbacks of those things. I think I see them in your avatar! "I see bugs, people!" Who am I to judge, I actually like tuna and onion on my pizza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 I could go for that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 I used to manage a store for a pizza delivery chain in my younger, formative years. I agree with Sanny and PC that your dough just needed to come up in temp. Cold dough is definitely stiffer. Some of the guys preferred to work with the warm, soft dough. So soft that if you picked it up is would stretch all the way out under its own weight. My preference was when it had just come to nearly room temp. It held a better shape and more uniform thickness when I hand tossed it that way. After I spun it, if it was too big I could flip the edges and it would pull back to size. Rollers are for rookies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted October 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Magic Memory Dough.. I used to manage a store for a pizza delivery chain in my younger, formative years. I agree with Sanny and PC that your dough just needed to come up in temp. Cold dough is definitely stiffer. Some of the guys preferred to work with the warm, soft dough. So soft that if you picked it up is would stretch all the way out under its own weight. My preference was when it had just come to nearly room temp. It held a better shape and more uniform thickness when I hand tossed it that way. After I spun it, if it was too big I could flip the edges and it would pull back to size. Rollers are for rookies Ever read about material that has memory? Well this dough was really it. Before I added flour to it, no matter what I did to it, it bounced back. At first frustrating, later humorous. I'll try punching it down once and warming up.. But there was no way in hell I could have thinned this out with out the board and roller... A few answers for new to dough boy questions please. How long can dough keep? Can it be home frozen? Can I use this dough like the sour dough starter that was posted, just keep adding to it? I could not find yeast in the markets.. Remember people here eat rice not bread as a whole. Is the elasticity from too much air from the yeast also? To get a thinner more flakey crust do I add more flour and water and less of this pre-made yeast based dough? Thanks all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Just a note to anyone who has a Publix grocery store in their town; they sell fresh pizza dough in the bakery area. Saves a lot of work. Man, I am just glad someone has as much trouble as I do getting the damn dough stretched. Thanks for the warming up tip, will try that next time. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 How long can dough keep? Several days in the fridge, months in the freezer. Can it be home frozen? Yep, but I am not sure you would want to activate the yeast in warm water if you intended to freeze it. You can buy un-risen bread loaves in the grocery here, and we used to get frozen dough delivered to the store as well. It came frozen before it had risen. You would thaw it and let it rise. Can I use this dough like the sour dough starter that was posted, just keep adding to it? Im not sure that dough ball would stay in tact if you kept adding water and flower to it, but you could certainly use some of the dough you have (or more specifically the yeast in it) as a seed to make a conventional sourdough starter. Sourdough starter is a runny, gooey slurry. Not actual dough. Is the elasticity from too much air from the yeast also? Not sure what you mean there...too much air? You mean overproofed? When that happens you loose elasticity. It sounds like you had the opposite problem. Cold dough that had not risen long enough. To get a thinner more flakey crust do I add more flour and water and less of this pre-made yeast based dough? Not sure on that, but you could just let a piece of your dough rise on the counter for a few hours. Then poke it down to a flat disk with your fingers and lightly stretch it to shape by draping it over your fists. It will be very soft and you will be able to stretch it as thin as you want. With some practice you will be able to get it so thin that you can almost see through it - or you could just roll it super-flat after flattening it with your fingers:D Just let a chunk rise on the counter for a couple hours, and see how different it behaves. It will probably deflate completely when you pick it up. DJ- I have used the publix dough too, when I am in a hurry. That stuff definitely needs to come out of the package, dusted with flour, shaped into a ball, and left on the counter for an hour or so before you try to use it. It comes cold and in a vac-pak! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkchop Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 elasticity is due to the formation of gluten (a protein) in the bread. this is caused more by overmixing or over-working than by any function of water, flour, or air. if you want tender dough, work it less. don't knead it too much. then, let it rise till double in volume, punch down, and let rise AT LEAST one more time. the more you let it rise, the more relaxed it will be. of course, once you have over-worked a dough, there's not a whole lot you can do about it; can't "un-make" the gluten. for flakiness, you are talking oil or shortening. cold lard works best (think pie crust), and use ice water for your liquid. the trick to obtaining "flaky" is producing a dough that has little tiny chunks of oil trapped between layers of dough. not overworking the dough here is KEY as well. the more you knead the dough, the more you warm the shortening and the more it gets absorbed, as well as overproducing gluten in the dough. less is more. i dont know a ton about starting a sourdough without using active yeast from packet or block. the old legend goes that the sourdough that made SF famous came on wagontrain, and was started by "wild" yeasts in the dry southwestern air that settled on ol' Cookie's bread sponge and began to ferment. i guess just try leaving out some flour & water, and see if any "wild" indonesian yeasts set up shop... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkline01 Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Dennis: Did you use the heat deflector when you cooked your pizza? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeadDog Posted November 1, 2007 Report Share Posted November 1, 2007 Dennis I think PC is right on about the dough. I have yet to try Sourdough for Pizza crust but the grape harvest is about over and I might try it. If you make your own dough then you can avoid the difficulties you had with the dough from the bakery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 Lower protein flower, such as the Italian 00 (King Arthur at http://www.kingarthurflour.com has it), will make a dough with much less elasticity. It can be tossed/pulled/rolled quite thin for pizza crust. And, work your dough less for a more tender crust. Recall the "no knead" bread recipe from NYTimes that is floating around somewhere. That's a very wet dough that is not kneaded at all, and makes a dough with large holes, excellent crumb, crusty crust. SO wet, though, it would never stand up as pizza. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rorkin Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 I did the no knead dough a bunch of times.. Great as bread but would never work as pizza dough.. I guess dennis can't do this but my neighbors go to a local pizza shop (nearest one is 40 min away ) and buy the dough and then freeze it .. seems to work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
