Three Options for Pizza Crusts

§  For a light, risen crust, use freshly made dough, although you can use chilled dough. For the highest, puffiest results, add 2 tsp. more yeast to the recipe and use the dough within three hours of making it. For a finer-textured crust, simply roll it out thinner and let it rise to the same height. Let the dough rise until it is puffy, and fingerprints disappear when dough is pressed. This takes about, 10 minutes with freshly made, room-temperature dough, or about 15 minutes with chilled dough.

§  A thick, chewy crust can be made either with fresh or chilled dough. Stretch or press the dough to about 1/3 to ½ inch thick and let it rise just slightly. Whether you’ll end up with a thick and chewy crust or a light and risen one depends on how thick you roll it out and how high you let it rise.

§  For a thin, crisp crust, use dough straight out of the refrigerator. Roll it out as thin as you want it—usually about ¼ inch—and get it into the oven within minutes, before it has a chance to rise.

A third of the above recipe will make a 12-to 16-inch round crust, depending on how thin you roll or spread it. Lightly form the dough into a ball and stretch it out. First, hold it vertically by one edge and turn it in your hands, allowing gravity to stretch it as you turn it. Then lay it on the cookie sheet and press out the dough, starting from the centre. Be careful not to tear or poke holes in the dough. A floured rolling pin is handy for rolling out crusts. If the dough springs back, let it rest a minute or two, or chill it in the fridge, and continue to work it out.

Sourdough Style Pizza Dough-Originally sourdough, which contained only wild forms of yeast, was never allowed to freeze. The sourdough starter was used because cake or granulated yeast was just not available. See Section 2-Chapter 1- Real Canadian Hardtack, Bannock, Sourdough, and Other Leavened Breads.

Yields: five 8 to 10 inch pizza crusts.

Ingredients:

1 ½ packages dry yeast.

2 cups water

1 tsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. salt

½ cup prepared sourdough starter

6 ½ cups flour

Ø In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water with sugar. Let stand until foam appears.

Ø Add salt, sourdough starter, and flour. Mix approximately 5-10 minutes in mixer with dough hook or knead until soft silky dough is produced. Let stand 5-10 minutes. Divide into five equal parts. Wrap each individual piece in plastic and freeze or refrigerate at least overnight

Ø Thaw dough at room temperature. Do not knead. Sprinkle with flour and stretch or roll to desired size.

As you are already aware, from the above write-up, cheeses, tomato sauces, and toppings were not a part of the original pizza breads; in the modern era however these three items have come to define pizza. For today's pizza cook, the next step is:

Panning the Prepared Pizza Dough: Of course professional pizza shops use a “sheeting” machine (Much too inefficient, hand tossing is primarily for show) but, for the home cook either of the following two methods is quite satisfactory.

Some home pizza cooks prefer to use rimless pizza pan, or cookie sheet, rather than the walled or curl edged type I suggest-this can make de-panning easier. Those who prefer this type of pan usually do not flute the edge of the pizza dough so that the finished product looks more like many mass produced, commercial products. And, they use a slightly different method or procedure of saucing, cheesing, topping, and baking their pizzas than what I do. I will explain the differences when we use the procedures but you might want to read ahead now before deciding which type of pan you want to use.

To “pan” pizza dough first rub or brush the inner cooking surface of a 12-inch pizza pan or cookie sheet with a thin layer (about 1 Tbsp.) of olive oil. Place a 15 oz. prepared dough ball on a lightly floured table top. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough and begin flattening out the ball with your hands until it is about 1-inch thick, forming as circular a shape as possible. At this point, try either of the following methods.

Rolling pin Method-For most people, this is quickest, easiest; and therefore the method they will use.

v With a rolling pin, roll out a circular sheet of dough, about ¼ to 3/8 of an inch thick, and about 14 to 15 inches in diameter. Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Place your dough portion in the centre of the work space and dust the top of dough with a sprinkling of flour, as necessary to keep it from sticking to the rolling pin. (Most, professional, barkers wrap their rolling pins in a floured cloth or tea-towel, which is then used to cover the table and under the dough when rolling it out-both are stored in the flour bin).

v Rolling from the centre outward press the pin to the top, the bottom, to the left, and to the right

v Repeat this process several times as the dough begins to stretch outward you will probably find that its elasticity tends to want to draw back into the original shape. This is normal, be patient and persistent. When the dough springs back, let it rest a minute or two, or chill it in the fridge, and then continue to work it out. Continue rolling until dough “relaxes”, losing its elasticity, and eventually maintains the prescribed thickness and diameter.

v Lift the dough sheet up from the table-top and sprinkle flour underneath it from time to time.

v Place the “sheeted” circle of dough in the centre of the baking pan. The edges of the dough will droop over the edge of the pan. Starting from the centre of the dough draw it evenly out to the edge or wall of the pan, letting out any air trapped between the dough and the pan. The dough will conform to the shape of the baking pan.

v  Trim the excess dough away from the outer edges of the pan with a dough knife. With your thumb, press edge inward around the pan edge, fluting as you go.

Hand Pressing Method: This method is much slower but has much the same effect as “tossing” the dough.

Ø Being careful not to punch holes in, or tear the dough, first hold your 1 inch thick disk vertically by one edge and turn it in your hands, allowing the force of gravity to stretch, and pull it into shape as it turns.

Ø Place the flattened and stretched portion of dough in the centre of the pan. While gently grasping the edge of the dough, using palms and fingers, begin pressing and stretching the dough until its outer edge meets and begins to bunch up against the inner wall or curled edge of the baking pan. Finish the crust by fluting the edge.

A Final Precautionary Procedure

At this point, some pizza bakers will prick several small holes (as you would with an ordinary baked pie crust) around the flattened dough sheet with a fork, to prevent the dough from “bubbling”. This is often caused when air builds up and is trapped underneath the dough as the pizza bakes.

Now that you have a perfectly shaped “panned “sheet of dough, you are ready for the sauce, cheese, and toppings. Or, after covering it; or tightly wrapping it, you can store it in a freezer for use in the future, or in the refrigerator for preparation and baking later in the day.