Homemade Pizza Dough

Excellent pizza dough only takes a few simple ingredients, a little kneading and time. Pizza dough is also a great springboard for easing yourself into the beautifully rewarding world of bread baking.

Although there are certainly more convenient alternatives to the homemade variety, such as take home dough from a pizzeria or pre-made shells, no one should be afraid to make their own personal, superior version.

I must admit that I do utilize a stand mixer (see old blue), which makes the kneading process incredibly easy for me. However, a bread machine will also work fabulously or you can even use a food processor to eliminate some of the manual labor. Although these devices certainly do make short work of even the most intimidating bread dough, they aren’t necessary and a little hand kneading can actually be pretty fun.


I came up with this recipe while trying to crack the formulae for the ambrosia served at my two favorite pizza joints (Bianchi’s Italian, Brooklyn Pizza Co.) with little success. I like it because the crust at the end has an almost pretzely taste, which I think you'll find surprisingly satisfying.


Pizza Dough Recipe (yeilds enough dough for 1 large thick crust pizza or two medium pizzas):
1 1/8 cups warm water
2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
3 ½ cups all purpose or bread flour
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of course grain salt
extra olive oil to lubricate the bowl


Method:

Place the yeast into the warm (around 100 degrees F) water, give it a little stir and allow to proof for about 5 minutes.


While the yeast is doing it's thing, you can combine the flour, tablespoon of oil and salt into your standmixer, bread machine pan, or mixing bowl and whisk until combined.

I know a tablespoon of salt seems like an aweful lot but the crust won't be overpoweringly salty. The trick is to use course grain salt. A tablespoon of course salt equates to roughly 1.5 teaspoons of standard table salt (or so I have been told) and will give your crust a unique flavor and texture.

After the yeast has proofed, combine it with the flour and attach the dough hook to your stand mixer. Allow the dough to knead for 7 minutes and then check to see if it is too wet or dry.

(This dough is a little dry and needs about a teaspoon of water)

At this point, I like to finish kneading the dough by hand.


I push forward on the dough with the "heel" of my palm, fold it backward on itself and repeat the process until it is smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a ball and place into a bowl that has been coated with extra virgin olive oil. Cover the bowl with platic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 2 hours.

There, you have it, beautiful dough that is ready for your favorite pizza recipe. When the dough is ready, form it into a thin circle by placing your knuckles in the center and stretching outwards. Then, place the dough on a pizza pan, and finish streaching it out using the palm of your hand. Fold the edges in on themselves to create the outer crust. Prick the crust with a fork all over so it doesn't bubble up when you bake it, add your sauce, cheese and toppings and bake at 500 degrees F for about 15-20-30 minutes (keep an eye on it after 10).

A lovely cheese pizza, just for me!

Recipe Review Special

Part Two
Here is part two of my recipe review special featuring Food Network's “Twelve Days of Cookies”.

Moravian Spice Wafers
From Food Network Kitchens


The recipe is located here and it really is quite the recipe. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, white pepper, mustard, molasses…. They really aren’t messing around with the ingredients list.

I love spice cookies and was really excited to try this recipe. It didn’t really disappoint me but it was kind of a pain. Rolling the dough to 1/16th of an inch, freezing the dough, using a cookie cutter, freezing again… come on.

Though the prep work involved did try my patience, the cookies reminded me a lot of pepparkakors, which I’m a big fan of. Overall, I would give this recipe a very respectable 3 out of 5 berries.



Alternative:
Like I mentioned above, I thought the effort necessary to make these cookies wasn’t really justified by the final product. For my second and subsequent batches, I used a different method, which basically involved making drop cookies that were rolled in sugar and spice.

Method:
Create a sugar and spice mixture consisting of ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of apple pie spice. Roll rounded teaspoons of the batter in the sugar mix and place on the baking sheet about an inch and a half apart. Press down on each dough ball with the back of a fork, vertically and horizontally, creating a criss-cross pattern on each cookie.


Bake for 10-12 minutes, sprinkle with a little more of the sugar mixture, allow to cool to room temperature and ENJOY! My version of these cookies got rave reviews.


What people are saying about Blackberry Pockets’ Moravian Spice Cookies:
“Best cookies ever”
“I just EVOO’d in my pants!”
“What is that? Freaking spice?”

With acclaim like that, these cookies get bumped up to a 4-berry ranking!

Of Mysterious Packages and Pasta Fresca

I was greeted to a delightful surprise when I returned home from work last Wednesday.

Ooh, a mysterious package. What could it be?



Hot damn! My blog has finally paid off. Two of my loyal readers took it upon themselves to help further my culinary education and sent me a very much-appreciated gift of a pasta roller! So much for Google AdWords, I’m just going to post my address and ask for presents!


I wasted no time in unwrapping, assembling and testing my newest gadget. I had been reading of this “pasta fresca” and was dying to make my own attempt. I found a traditional egg noodle recipe from the enclosed manual and began to work.



Old school. For real





I couldn’t believe it. Before me lay actual homemade pasta! It was not perfect by any means, but for a first attempt, it ranked fair. And at the time, to me, it was glorious. Unfortunately, upon completing my task I was left with one fateful question… What next?

To be continued.