Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Pizza Dough

When I lived in Jordan, I decided I needed a cookbook for making just about anything from scratch.  So, for Christmas, my grandparents bought me The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.  This is probably the cookbook that I use the most because the recipes are basic and I can find answers for many of my cooking questions in it.  Her recipe for pizza dough is the one I always use.

Pizza Dough
1 1/3 cups warm water
1 package dry yeast
3-4 cups flour
2 T olive oil
2 t salt

In 1/3 cup warm water dissolve the yeast, and let stand for 5 minutes.  Add 2 cups of the flour, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 cup warm water and the salt; beat.  Add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well until it holds together in a rough mass (I usually only use 3 cups of flour to this point).  Place 1/2 cup of flour on a hard surface and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.  Place in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic, to rise until double in size, about two hours.  Hint:  if you turn the light on above your stove (underneath the microwave, if you have one), it helps the dough to rise more quickly.  Once it has doubled, punch it down with your fist and divide into two balls.  Roll the dough out on the pizza pan, to create about a 14 inch pizza disc.  This recipe makes two discs.

(Recipe adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

4 comments:

  1. If I make just one pizza, what do you do with the dough for the other disc? Does it freeze well? Or can it keep in the fridge?

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  2. Well, I always make two because we need 2 pizzas to feed everyone. I will try freezing one next time and let you know; not sure how that would turn out, but I think it would work. You could also make a dessert pizza with the 2nd one. Try baking just the crust for about 10-15 minutes, and then spread with nutella. Or, you could spread with butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon/brown sugar mixture, and even add some apples. Be creative and let me know what you come up with!

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  3. Well, consider yourself to have achieved one of your blog's goals today- I just made homemade pizza dough. Well, it's supposedly rising right now, so I guess I can't actually say I'm a success story yet. I'll let you know if it works. Thank you for helping me become a better person. :)

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  4. By all means....freeze this recipe. Always make double what you knead (go ahead, hit me) Let the portion you want to freeze rise to double bulk then beat it back down before freezing. When you want to use it, let it thaw at room temperature and allow it to rise again...then eat it

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